To Hell and Back, for You
by SoulsLastResort
Summary: After defeating Aizen, Ichigo wondered what could be next.  He hoped that everything would just be slow and uneventful the rest of his life.  To bad the universe, and a purple haired goddess, has other ideas.
1. Flashbacks

Disclaimer: _If _I owned Bleach, then I would be living in a big ass mansion, have a Mclaren F1, indoor movie theater, and Yoruichi and Ichigo would be having a _lot _of scenes that would be just under the legal policy that Bleach may be under. Hell, Bleach would really become my favorite then. But I don't. I don't own Bleach, though it is fun to fantasize about how Bleach would've been if I did own it.

Chapter 1 Flashbacks

Somewhere, out there, in the soul society, you can hear a building fall, concrete crack, or steel crunch. Just the first few sounds got Ichigo tensed as he finally came out of the dangai into the soul society with his father, Isshin.

"Seems like they're already starting to destroy Karakura town. If we don't get there and do something soon, then they're going to level the place. Not to mention create the Ouken while they're at it.", Isshin commented.

"Then let's not wait here. The longer we do, the more innocent lives will be lost.", Ichigo replied, staring off into the direction that the sounds of destruction were coming from.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yeah. Come on, let's finally end this thing and get this over with. Maybe then, life can go back to normal, at least for a little while."

"Please son, were soul reapers for cryin' out loud! Life for us will never be _normal_."

"I know that, but at least we won't have the entire Soul Society relying on us to pull off some damn miracle!" Ichigo shot back.

"Now what are you talking about? Were Kurosaki's! Were made of miracles, it's what we do." Isshin came back smoothly.

"Your looking at me like I'm nuts! I'm not the one tal-", before Ichigo can come back at his father with some rude comment, another wave of spiritual pressure came flying at them, followed by some more sounds of destruction. It finally clicked in Ichigo's mind that the whole time that he and Isshin were having some pointless argument, Aizen and Gin were destroying parts of the real Karakura town.

"Damn it, I can't believe that I'd let you distract me with your stupid idea of normalness while they try to level our town.", Ichigo muttered while wincing at the enormous amount of spiritual pressure around him.

"Well there's no point in just standing here. Come on, let's go defend it.", Isshin announced, also wincing at the pressure. Though he was having some trouble dealing with the immense amount of spiritual pressure around him, he couldn't help but feel proud that he wasn't doing this by himself, but he would be fighting along side his son, Ichigo. Just that thought, though he tried to conceal it, left a cross of a heart-warming grin and a arrogant smirk on his face.

Looking back at his dad, Ichigo made eye contact with him and nodded, showing he was ready. After Isshin responded with a nod of his own, they both flash-stepped out of existence.

While Aizen and Gin were starting to destroy Karakura town and Ichigo and Isshin were having a 'Father-Son moment', as Isshin would put it, no one noticed that another Senkai gate was opened at the moment. What was even more surprising was the people coming though it: the entire Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the Vizards, Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, Chad, Uryu, Orihime, Urahara, Yoruichi, and even Nel and her 'brothers'. But, instead of just charging in with Ichigo and Isshin, they just stood there. But, they weren't just standing there, they were actually silently praying.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aizen and Gin somehow found all of Ichigo's friends that were conscious,(Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuho. Plus, some others that weren't really all that important.), and was just about to kill them to add them to the large amount of lives already taken by the two. When all of a sudden…

"STOP!"

"So, Ichigo Kurosaki, are you finally ready to fight us, or are you just going to run away again and allow me to kill all of the people that you deeply care about?", Aizen declared smugly as he turned his black and gold eyes to face Ichigo, who had just now came out of his flash-steps. While they were just starting to destroy Karakura town to make the Oaken Key and invade the extra dimension that the Spirit King resides in, Gin was telling him how Ichigo was afraid of his new found power. He actually found that bit of news amusing that the proclaimed 'last hope' for the Soul Society was afraid of him, and felt that he should be. He fused with the Hogyoku after all! Not even the Head-Captain, damn near killing himself, could barely give him a scratch.

"Shut it, Aizen. I'm not running away, and I'm not scared. I don't care what happens to me. I won't allow you to destroy my hometown or take away any of the people I care about. I _will_ beat you. And then, I _will_ _kill _you.", Ichigo practically spit out towards Aizen calmly while giving him his trademark scowl. If a person was crazy enough to think that Ichigo was bluffing, just the fact that he put so much emotion and meaning into his words would be enough to make a deaf man hear how serious he was.

Aizen looked even more amused than he was a few moments ago. "Oh? And where did this new found confidence arise, hmm? The last time you and I met, ryoka boy, was at Sokyoku Hill, and you barely gave me a scratch even in your bankai. Do you really think you can defeat me now that I'm perfectly fused with the power of the Hogyoku?", Aizen replied with a slight hint of amusement, accompanied by an ever present, ice cold smirk.

"Doesn't matter whether you're fused with that rock or not, the results are going to be the same in the end, you falling by my sword.", Ichigo said, tightening his grip on Zangetsu.

"The Hogyoku is not just a rock, you imbecile. That just proves that you don't know nor understand my raw power.", Aizen replied with obvious disgust in his voice, most likely the lack of respect Ichigo gave towards him and the Hogyoku. But, just as fast as his anger came, it went. Aizen continued with an almost bragging tone, "Allow me to show you, ryoka boy, the power that resides within me.", he said with a cold stare while gripping his Zanpakutou.

The entire time this exchange was happening, Gin had been quiet, letting Aizen have his fun bragging about his power. But when Aizen said that he was about to let Ichigo see how powerful he was, he had to say something. He didn't believed that Ichigo deserved to see all of his power. That, and he didn't want to get crushed by the mere spiritual pressure, after all. "But, Captain Aizen, why would you stoop so low as to show your power to a weakling like him? Let me handle him, based on how pathetic he was the last time we faced each other, I could kill him thirty seconds, easy."

Isshin took this as his time to add his two cents. "Hey, my boy's not weak, just distracted by the superior battle skills that I myself hold. Hell, though I doubt it, he could be stronger than me, and if I can kill you, Gin, then he could've killed you without even trying now wouldn't he?", he announced with a bragging tone and a stupid grin.

"Just what are you talking about, old man? He couldn't even stand against me and I was holding back about half of my full power. And you think he could beat Captain Aizen going all out?", Gin replied, every word heavy with disbelief. So much so, that, in a rare case of circumstances, he actually opened his eyes, at least a crack.

"Like I said, he wasn't concentrating. But, you won't have that problem with me. Besides, you already had you fun with him, so how about tryin' your luck with me? If you think you can handle me?"

"Alright, but it's your funeral."

And with that, they flash-stepped out of existence, their spiritual pressures fading in the distance. Now, it was only Aizen and Ichigo.

* * *

On the ground, Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuho and the rest of Ichigo's friends and classmates were at a lost at what was going on. Keigo was about to speak when he just disappeared. Before anybody else could say anything, the rest of them disappeared in the same manner. In Tatsuki's eyes, one moment she was on her knees about to be killed, the next, she was standing next to a lot of people either wearing all black, all black with some sort of badge somewhere on there bodies, or all black with some white cape or haori over there bodies. Though, among all of the weird people with weird clothing, there were a few exceptions of some others. And just to make it even more confusing was the fact that the people that were the exception were the ones she and the others met after Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu went though the garganta into Hueco Mundo to retrieve Orihime. She dumbly examined what they were wearing. There was a mysterious blonde man with the green and white hat and almost all green shirt, pants, and coat. For no reason, he even pulls out a paper fan. At that action, she didn't know what to do: ask why, or just burst out laughing. She would have to pick soon, or see'll be performing both actions. Then she noticed the two kids and the big tan guy with funny looking hair standing next to the blonde guy. One of the two kids was wearing a dirty, plain white t-shirt and blue sweat pants. The other was also wearing a plain white t-shirt, (though it was slightly more cleaner), with a pink skirt with a flowerily pattern on the pants. The big guy was wearing an apron with a t-shirt under it. She couldn't see what kind of pants he was wearing from the angle she was at, though. Then she came across a young, beautiful woman, though she didn't look it since in was covered in mud, sweat, cuts, bruises, and blood. Tatsuki was surprised that when it came to her attire, she didn't really have much on her. All she was wearing at the time was what looked like a one piece swimming suit with some long arm and leg warmers, a scarf-looking thing around her neck, and her hair was in some sort of fancy pony tail. But then she noticed a strand of orange on her and one thought came to mind…

'Orange, Ichigo!', Tatsuki thought desperately. This whole time, all she was doing was checking people she didn't even know out, right after she saw Ichigo for the first time since he went though the garganta. She looked over at Mizuho who quickly composed himself and was examining himself and his surroundings, while Keigo seamed to have skipped looking over himself completely and just stared at everybody, though more at the purple haired woman than anything else. Before she can say anything about Keigo starring, he caught sight of her and quickly gathered everybody up and they all walked quietly and quickly towards Tatsuki.

"Tatsuki, your alright! What the hell's happening!", Keigo asked followed by numerous input by the rest of the group.

"Why are you asking me, I don't know!", Tatsuki whispered back hurriedly.

"And wasn't that Ichigo that came and talked to that other guy? I wonder what that was that all about?", Mizuho wondered to himself quietly and calmly.

"And I wonder why he was talking so harshly at him. Sure, he was about to kill us, but Ichigo wouldn't have that much motivation behind his words.", Tatsuki added after him.

"And why are you two acting so calm? Don't you know that we almost died just a few minuets ago?", Keigo asked, raising his voice up just a bit.

"Well, the only way we'll know what's going on would be to ask Ichigo, but he isn't here right now; he's talking to the other guy. These people seem to know what's going on, why not ask them?", Mizuho raised his pointing finger up along with the idea while effectively toning out Keigo's 'imaginative' ideas.

"Are you sure it's okay to ask them? They seem too preoccupied with what Ichigo's doing.", Keigo replied.

"Where is Ichigo anyway?", Tatsuki asked.

"That way, I guess.", Mizuho pointed in some random direction.

"Hey, are you kids okay?", an unfamiliar voice asked.

Everybody turned to see where the voice came from and found that it came from a man with long white hair.

"Yeah, we're fine. But, what's going on here? Who were thoughs guys and what did they want from us?", Tatsuki asked. She would have asked more, but she thought that that was enough and anymore would just annoy the person she was talking to. The white haired man took a moment, then answered.

"Your friend, Ichigo Kurosaki, is our last hope to save both the human world and the spiritual one. The two men that all of you met were the ones that Ichigo must fight and win against in order to save us all. They were about to kill you in order to make a type of key and kill a certain person behind the door that this key unlocks. I'm sorry that all of you got dragged into this, but it was inevitable. The two men that you saw were very bad and Ichigo is the only one that can do this.", the man with white hair replied towards the question. Even more surprisingly, he said all of that with one, big breath.

"But why Ichigo?", Keigo asked. "Why not you or any of these other people?"

Before the man can reply, Mizuho asked another question.

"I'm sorry since this might be rude but, what's your name, if you don't mind?"

"That's right, I didn't introduce myself did I? Sorry, my name is Jyuushiro Ukitake. It might have actually been more rude if you hadn't reminded me to give my name." Then he turn back to Keigo. "To answer the your last question, the reason Ichigo has to do it is because of that mans sword. The second a person looks at the blade of the sword, he can completely put that person into an illusion that he has complete control of. It is said that these illusions are so convincing and real that you never know when he activated it, meaning he can kill you almost immediately if he wanted to. Ichigo hasn't seen the blade yet, and that's why he is the only person who can do this. That reason is also the same reason that we can't do it.", Ukitake said. Just as he was finishing, a hunched old man came and stood next to Ukitake.

"Right now, the fate of both your world and ours rests on Ichigo Kurosaki's shoulders. If he fails, then all will be lost.", the old man said, his voice full of wisdom.

"Well, can't you at least try and do something to help him? That guy is a monster! Just the fact that Ichigo can even stand that close to him without feeling like he's suffocating is a miracle! Why can't you help him?", Tatsuki practically ranted.

Then, another person came up. She looked young with an air of elegance, with her black hair in a large braid that's tied in the front instead of the back.

"We can't. Just the fact that we are even here is a miracle in of itself. Everyone was badly wounded when I found them all and most of the people that I have healed can't even move in the slightest without a wave of pain coursing though them. All we can do is watch, and prey that Ichigo Kurosaki can overcome Aizen." For most part of the her comment, she was either looking at the ground or off in some direction away from them. But she mostly closed her eyes, opening them just a hair every now and then. But, at the end of the conversation, she looked up at the direction that Mizuho pointed at a few minutes ago, eyes wide open.

"Don't worry, Ichigo will be just fine. He's stubborn, and won't quit unless he can't physically continue anymore. But, I don't think that will happen, and even if that happened, he always found some way to come out on top. Hopefully, he'll come out of this in one piece."

Everybody turned to the direction of the voice that just said the last comment. It was Yoruichi. She wondered how she knew Ichigo, so she asked.

"By the way, how do all of you know Ichigo so well?"

A short woman with a fierce look in her eyes and an odd looking arm answered. "We'll have to save that for another time, it would take to long. We all have to focus on this."

"What happened to your arm?", Keigo asked.

The elegant woman answered. "Her arm was detached from her shoulder. I used my healing abilities to heal it and after some 'persuasion', got some medicine to make a new arm. It isn't perfect, but I didn't have the time to make it perfect. You don't have to worry though, when this is over, I'll fix it." When the woman got to the 'persuasion' part, she turned to look at a man with black and white face paint on and some sort of ridiculous head dress on. The way she said it and the look in her eyes got everyone who was within her field of vision shift their weight on one leg or the other while looking away from her. There was a moment of silence.

"Your right, he would rather die than quit in anything.", Mizuho replied to Yoruichi's comment earlier. He took a quick glance in her direction, and then turned towards where he believed Ichigo to be.

* * *

"So, ryoka boy, what are you going to do now? Neither Gin not Isshin is here to interfere. And if you hadn't noticed, there aren't any people in the streets to stop you from coming at me with all you got. Lets see how strong you've gotten since the last time we met.", he said while reaching for his Zanpakutou's hilt.

"Wait, if there's nobody here, than where are they?", Ichigo asked while narrowing his eyes.

"Let's just say that the Soul Society will have an extra amount of souls that they can throw at the front lines to stop me.", Aizen answered along with a cross of an evil and an amused smirk.

Ichigo didn't take to kindly with thoughs words. He was giving a death stare that would have gotten Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and Nnoitra pissing there pants.

"About your idea about seeing how strong I've become, yeah, lets!", and with that, Ichigo practically exploded with spiritual energy and charged toward Aizen, Zangetsu's cloth unwrapping itself while Ichigo held it in his right hand.

* * *

I'm surprised at how long it took to write this and it's barely past 3,000 words. Now I can understand why it takes so long to update stories. Hope you like the first chapter of my very first story, _To Hell and Back, for You._ I'll take all criticism: grammer, spelling, fluency you name it. Like I said on my profile page, I'll try my hardest to update this story as soon as possible and I won't forget about it. Also, if you have any idea's that can help make this story more adventurous, romantic, humorous or other wise, or if you have a power you would like to see Ichigo add to his arsenal of attacks, don't hesitate to express you ideas. Who knows, your idea might even be included in this story. Now, R&R!


	2. Flashbacks 02

Disclaimer: (mumbling to myself), ..hate these things, I don't own Bleach, happy?

"About your idea about seeing how strong I've become, yeah, lets!", and with that, Ichigo practically exploded with spiritual energy and charged toward Aizen, Zangetsu's cloth unwrapping itself while Ichigo held it in his right hand.

* * *

Ichigo flash-stepped behind Aizen, then shifted to the left and swung Zangetsu up in an arc with Zangetsu striking his lower hip and ending on the right side of his neck. Ichigo wished he would've cut him, but he new that Aizen would've either moved or deflected the blow. So you can understand his astonishment when he _did _cut Aizen. Hell, he literally cut him in two! But, just to add to Ichigo's surprise, the, now _two _pieces of Aizen, just shattered like glass. 'What the hell?' Then he remembered what Aizen's zampaktou does and would've face-palmed if he wasn't fighting the strongest person ever in the soul society. Then, he had an idea. Though he knew that he just plain sucked at detecting spiritual pressure, he tried anyway. When he concentrated, the spirit ribbons started coming from the ground and surrounding him. Just when he was about to finish the process of materializing them, he had thought, 'Wait a minute, didn't Uryu say that _all _soul reapers have red spirit ribbons when we first met? Damn it, this is the soul society, there're soul reapers everywhere!' Just as he thought that, he unconsciously completed the process of materializing the ribbons and came across a black ribbon. 'What the hell is that?'

"Impressive, you actually gotten faster. And the blow was quick enough that a lower leveled opponent wouldn't have time to react. Also, you actually have some basic sense of detecting spiritual energy. You get more intriguing with every passing moment.", came a voice from behind him. It was Aizen, clear as day and completely unharmed.

"Quit hiding behind your illusions and fight me for real. Or, are you afraid?", Ichigo said to Aizen, who only laughed.

"How can you really think that I would be afraid of you? You haven't seen my zampaktou, Kyouka Suigetsu, that's true, but, that doesn't mean that I can't kill you. Also, your weak. Though you have gotten considerably stronger since the last time we met, my power now far exceeds my power then. If you had been as strong as you are now then, then I would've had a problem, but you weren't. And if in case you were wondering, my power now, is about 5 times greater then it was that day." The entire time, Aizen said this with a straight and serious face, but at the last statement, his bragging tone and smirk came back.

"All I heard was old news. You have to stop dwelling on the past, Aizen. It's not good for you.", Ichigo said with a serious face and tone. As soon as he was finished with that statement, he followed up with another. "I said it before, but I guess for you to understand it, I'll say it again. It doesn't matter whether you're fused with that rock or not, the result will be the same. You falling by my blade.", Ichigo mentally laughed when he envisioned Aizen act like a little kid and start jumping on one of his feet, then jump on the other saying how the Hogeyoku wasn't just some rock. The odd part is, he didn't think it, it just kind of popped up out of nowhere. Ichigo mentally shook his head and focused back on Aizen who was in the middle of kind of doing what he imagined, just without the jumping.

"...some 'rock'. If you really want to see it that badly, then I'll show you." The last time he said something kind of like that, he held a bragging tone and smirk, but this time they were both absent. Aizen must've been pissed!

"Fine, show me.", Ichigo stated, again charging with Zangetsu. Just as he was about to raise Zangetsu for an attack, he was pushed back by a tremendous amount of spiritual pressure. Wincing, Ichigo looked to Aizen just to see that there was nothing there. Straighting himself out and looking around, Ichigo tried to find Aizen, who just comes to Ichigo's right and backhand him to the ground with so much force, that the nearby buildings either cracked or collapsed. Ichigo was under some rubble, but not completely. He was able to see up at the sky and Aizen. 'Damn, and all he did was hit me with his hand. Guess I'll have to use bankai. Maybe then I'll be able to keep up with him.' Before he can even stand up though, Aizen was in front of him grabbing the top half of Ichigo's soul reaper uniform, and with one hand, literally throw him half way across KaraKura town. All Ichigo remembered was that he was in some rubble and before he even had time to realize which way was up, Aizen was in front of him, throwing him across town. They were fighting in some residential neighborhood, but now they were, what Ichigo guessed, was downtown. Ichigo was face down this time, struggling to get up when a foot made contact with his back and slammed him back down to the ground, causing a small crater and a lot of minor cracks into the concrete.

"See, this is about 30% of my full power, and you can't even see me, let alone keep up with me. I'm going to slowly build my way up to my full power and have fun toying with you, then I'm going to completely destroy you. Don't worry, the way there will be slow and painful, but once your there, I might think about giving you a very quick and painless death. Just don't expect a funeral, because there wouldn't be a 'you' to bury. Then I'll say hello to the Soul King.", Aizen said with his ice-cold smirk. Just to add insult to injury, instead of lifting his foot off of Ichigo's back, he steps over Ichigo's body. While walking away, Aizen continued, "And like I just walked over your body, I'll walk over his, and take full control of this place." Stopping and looking back at Ichigo, Aizen added, "Go into Bankai, ryoka boy. I want to show the great distance in our power that you can not hope to cross."

Getting up, Ichigo couldn't help but think that that last statement that Aizen said sounded strangely familiar, like he heard it somewhere. Shaking the thought out of his head, Ichigo, though shakily, finally got up. Though he was hurting and bleeding, and some parts of his soul reaper attire was either torn or completely gone, Ichigo still wore his defiant scowl. "You want me to use bankai, well then you got it." As soon as the words left his mouth, Ichigo began to build his spiritual energy up and held Zangetsu out in front, pointing the tip at Aizen. Then, he put his left hand over his right forearm while the white cloth wrapped itself around the entire length of his right arm. His held back spiritual pressure starting to come visible and it swirled around him. At first, it was white and slightly transparent, then it darkened to a shining blue, after that, turned even darker to a midnight black with blood-like red outlining the black. But the thing that most people would be captivated by, was Ichigo's eyes, which started to sort of glow with the same shining blue that his spiritual energy was a few moments ago. Taking a deep breath, Ichigo yelled, "Bankai!"

* * *

Everybody felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure go though the roof as he shifted to bankai. Since, Tatsuki and the others weren't used to feeling spiritual pressure period, it was very hard to get used to. But once everybody around them raised there spiritual pressure to match Ichigo's, they could actually breathe again. Tatsuki being the one to recover first, she was the one to ask.. "What the hell was that?"

It was Urahara to answer that question, "Ichigo's spiritual pressure. What he was in the last time you saw him is what we call Shikai. What he's in now, we call Bankai. The difference between the two power levels is vast. Depending on who it is and the Zampaktou's abilities, the power that one possesses can be multiplied by 5 to 10 times. Usually, it takes years to master, but Ichigo is an exception."

"How is he an exception?", Mizuiro asked.

"It took him only 3 days." Mizuiro's question was answered but not by Urahara, but by Yoruichi.

At that, everybody turned to look at Yoruichi. "What?"

"3 days? But that's impossible! I doesn't matter how strong you are, there's no way anybody, no matter how special, can achieve bankai in that short of time. How do you know that anyway Yoruichi?", Toshiro asked, eyes wide.

"Because I was the one who oversaw the entire 3 day training it took him.", she replied. Urahara just couldn't help but poke fun at her.

"Well, surely he wasn't training for 3 days straight, what were you two doing when he was resting?", and out came his closest companion, the hand held fan covering the ridiculously huge and goofy grin on his face. To make matters worse, everybody looked back at Yoruichi. Once she noticed, though her dark skin hid most of it, she blushed. "What? You actually believe that something happened during his 3 rest periods?" At that, Urahara couldn't help but accidentally let a snicker slip. At the snicker, everybody just turned back around to watch the fight between Ichigo and Aizen, while Yoruichi gave a straight right to Urahara, which landed right on the bridge of his nose, effectively breaking it. "Pervert.",Yoruichi stated before going back to the battle. Urahara's nose was in pretty bad shape, so Unohana had to go and heal it before it got infected or damaged more.

"Looks like the battle between thoughs two picked up, doesn't it?", Kyouraku said quietly to Ukitake.

"I never knew Ichigo had a bankai. When this is all over, him and me are going to have a lot of fun!", Kenpachi said excitingly. He looked terrible, to put it likely. His fight with Nnoitra left him with multiple gashes, bruises and even parts of him that were completely run though. He better be grateful that Unohana found him and healed his wounds.

"Always looking for a fight, aren't you? Don't tell me that you're aren't aware of the current situation. If Ichigo Kurosaki dies and loses, then we'll have lost, and Aizen will have nothing to stand in his way. He'll create the Oaken, slay the Spirit King, and rule over all of us.", Byakuya said to Kenpachi. They way he told him though, was like he was losing his patience with a small little child the threw a fit when he didn't get what he wanted.

"For you information, I did know what was going on. And if you say something like that to me again, then I'll slam you to the ground, got it?", Kenpachi came back.

"Captain Zaraki and Captain Kuchiki, stop. This is not the time, nor the place.", Head-Captain Yamamoto declared, which ended the argument immediately.

"I wonder why he wants to fight Ichigo so bad.", Keigo whispered to himself, but loud enough for Komamura to overhear, probably because of his animal ears.

"It's because Ichigo Kurosaki invaded the soul society not to long ago, to rescue Rukia Kuchiki. While he was here, he fought that man, Kenpachi Zaraki. From what I heard, it was a draw, but since then, he's been wanting a rematch.", Komamura said to Keigo.

All Keigo could do was sweat-drop. Who could blame him. Really, how often do you ever have a vocal conversation with a full size bear, and actually get a verbal answer back from it? Needless to say, he wouldn't forget that experience. Keigo struggled to get down from his surprise high, but once he got over the shock of a talking bear, he responded, "Really now? Who do you think would win?", bad mistake.

"It doesn't matter. All I know is that it's going to be fun when I'll finally have a chance at fighting him once again. Who knows,", Kenpachi turned and almost started to loom over a scared little Keigo, "He might go all out if you were to accidentally get hurt, wouldn't he?", he asked with a maniacal grin on his face.

"I wouldn't know, but can we try to avoid anything that doesn't involve me getting hurt in any way, shape, or form?", Keigo asked with shaking legs and a weak grin. A person could almost swear they could see little beads of tears on the corners of his eyes. Lucky for Keigo, Komamura intervened.

"Let him be Kenpachi, focus on the problem at hand.", he said to Kenpachi, who only snorted but agreed and concentrated back on the fight.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

As soon as Ichigo said bankai, a large cloud of dust covered both him, Aizen and an entire block of the downtown part of the city. Aizen stared toward the dust cloud, but shifted his eyes to the left as Ichigo in his bankai attire with Tensa Zangetsu in his hand came charging at him. He decided to flash-step upwards to get out of the way. As soon as Aizen stopped his flash step, he found Ichigo right behind him making a wide slash downward yelling, "Getsuga Tensho", which in turn fired a large, black, red lined beam towards Aizen, who flash-stepped to the right to dodge. Using his new found speed from his bankai, Ichigo followed Aizen where he would be once he ended his flash-steps, but then just lost track of him altogether. 'Where'd he go?'. A few moments later, Ichigo felt an immense amount of spiritual pressure coming from below him. He looked down to see Aizen coming up and was about to move when his eyes caught something white over him. Looking up, Ichigo saw a _second_ Aizen coming from the top. Before he had time to wonder what Aizen did, Ichigo used his flash-steps to flash to the right, just to find a third Aizen there about to cut him in two. Ichigo didn't think, just react. He raised Zangetsu up to parry Aizens blow back upwards. Then, while Zangetsu pointed up high, turned 360 and slashed at Aizens midsection, only for him to dodge the attack by jumping and kicking Ichigo under the chin on his way up, then kick him again on his way down. Ichigo spit out a small amount of blood on the second kick and fell a few feet down but quickly recovered and launched another Getsuga Tensho toward Aizen. Instead of dodging, Aizen held his pulled out his zampaktou and held it level and struck the wave in the middle, which after a few moments of contact, broke the wave, making explode all around them. Using the dust that the failed Getsuga Tensho produced, Ichigo launched smaller, fasted Getsugas though the cloud, just to find Aizen behind him attempting to punch Ichigo on the back of the neck, which would've killed him. Again, Ichigo just reacted, bringing Tensa Zangetsu up and stopping Aizens fist. Then, Ichigo span around and pulled Tensa Zangetsu off of his fist and attempted to cut it off, but failed because Aizen retracted it. Using the momentum from the fast movement, Aizen threw his other hand to hit Ichigo in the face. Ichigo saw it coming and tried to move his head to the right, but he didn't escape total damage. Aizens fist was still close enough to make a scratch on his cheek. Thankful that that was all the damage, Ichigo again swung Zangetsu towards rib cage, but then, Aizen wasn't there. Before his brain could even process what was going on, a foot caught Ichigo square on the back, which launched Ichigo through 4 skyscrapers before hitting the pavement. Though dazed, Ichigo recovered quickly and found Aizen charging at him. With a yell, he charged back but Aizen was to quick. Before they were even half way to meeting each other, Aizen flash-stepped right in front of Ichigo with a finger pointed with blue ball at the end aimed at his forehead.

"Bakudo Number 4: Byakuri" All Ichigo saw was a bright blue light with a sizzling-like sound accompanying it. Though he was blinded, he still jumped up and avoided an instant death sentence. Squinting his eyes, Ichigo raised Zangetsu up and quickly brought him back down, initiating another Getsuga Tensho. Ichigo didn't know if he hit Aizen, but he knew he didn't kill him. As much as it pained Ichigo to say it, Aizen was ridiculously strong, and no minor Getsuga will do the trick. He started to look for Aizen's spiritual pressure, but was interrupted by a fist landing solidly on his right cheek. Yet again, Ichigo was thrown to the ground. But this time, when he opened his eyes, he saw Aizen about to collide with him with incredible speed. Ichigo forced an astonishing amount of his spiritual energy at his feet to perform a very fast flash-step. He got out in time, but wasn't fast enough to fully avoid a hit and came out with his entire left arm cut, bruised and banged up. Yeah, Ichigo can still move it, just not with out a lot of pain shooting up and throughout his body.

"Impressive, ryoka boy. At 30% of my power, you survived with only a cut on the cheek and a painful looking arm. Guess it's time to up the ante. Let's see how you do at 50%. And I think I might even use Kyouka Suigetsu.", as soon as Aizen finished saying this, his spiritual pressure surrounded him and cracked the concrete. For the second time in the fight, Aizen disappeared from Ichigo's line of sight. 'Unbelievable! I'm in bankai and still can't follow him.', Ichigo thought. His senses tripped and Ichigo flash-stepped to the right, narrowly dodging a death blow from Aizen. But as soon as he came, he vanished, and appeared right behind Ichigo. Aizen scored 3 quick blows to his back, ribs and shoulders before Ichigo flash-stepped away. 'Damn it, those felt like getting hit by Yammy's fist when he hits you dead on! And at half his total power!'

While he was thinking to himself, Aizen came around and side kicked him in the gut, effectively knocking the wind out of him and sending him through another building. Once Ichigo went through the front and out the back, Aizen came and elbowed Ichigo in the back, then spinning around and delivered a straight right to the exact spot that he elbowed on Ichigo's back.

"Are you even trying anymore?", Aizen asked looking bored.

"I don't know, you tell me!", came the replied, followed by a heavy spiritual pressure. Aizen looked towards the area where the reply came from and looked slightly more interested than he was a moment ago. Ichigo's black, red-lined spiritual pressure surrounded him completely and rushed out towards Aizen, who now had a smirk on his face as he anticipated what was to come. Then, Ichigo's spiritual energy diminished, and when Aizen looked, Ichigo wasn't there. Instead, he was right behind him, attempting to make a long slash down his back. The difference now and the other times that Ichigo tried to attack him like this, was that now, Ichigo was wearing his hollow mask. Though, the mask looked different. Instead of half the mask being covered by multiple red stripes connected to one large stripe going to the middle, the mask had two identical stripes on each side, going up and down, over the eyes and down the face. For the first actual time, Aizen pulled out Kyouka Suigetsu to parry Zangetsu from the now hollowfied Ichigo. Sure, Aizen used Kyouka Suigetsu earlier in the fight, but that was to counter a Getsuga thrown his way; since then, he hasn't even touched his zampaktou. They were locked in a battle of strength.

"About time you unleashed your full power, Ichigo Kurosaki. Now, lets truly see how powerful you become.", Aizen said with a smirk.

"You sound pretty confident, Aizen. I wonder why when your seeing your own executioner about to cut you down.", Ichigo came back with his hollowfied voice.

"That's because I, unlike you, have the infinite power of the Hogeyoku. No matter how strong you may think you are, you won't defeat me."

"Wanna bet?", Ichigo said, which was followed by a yell and a massive push to win the battle of strength.

* * *

Once Ichigo donned his hollow mask, his soul pressure changed, which didn't go unnoticed by the spectators. With the exception of the Vizards, Orihime, Uryu, Chad, Renji, Rukia, Urahara, Byakuya, and Yoruichi, everybody was shocked by the sudden change.

"What happened to Ichigo. His soul pressure just changed, it's mostly soul reaper, but with a slight feeling of a hollow signature. Not to mention it's unbelievably strong. ", Toshiro asked to no one in particular. Shinji decided to answer.

"Ichigo is a Vizard. We taught him how to conquer his inner hollow, and now, he can do what we call hollowfication. By tapping into the power that his hollow possesses, Ichigo can become like us. The mask is a visual representation of hollowfication. When you hollowfiy, your power increases dramatically. Bit if it's broken, then the hollowfication is removed from Ichigo's overall power. Think of it as Ichigo's version of the Hogeyoku, just with a removable mask and not a rock in the middle of his chest.", Shinji explained.

"Excuse me but, what is everybody talking about?", Tatsuki asked, though a little shy.

"Don't worry, we'll explain it soon, after this fight is over.", Komamura stated.

"Tatsuki? Is that you?", Orihime just now recognize her long time friend that wasn't that far away from them. At Orihime's question, everybody looked in the direction that Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Renji, and Rukia were. Since the five of them knew just about everybody there, they walked over to Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, and the rest of Ichigo's classmates.

"Orihime? Oh my, Orihime!", Tatsuki was shocked to see the five of them there, but was even more shocked at how Orihime was hurt in some areas of her body. She ran over to her and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, we all are.", she said motioning to Chad, Uryu...(you should know by now.)

While the former ryokas were conversing with the others, Head-Captain Yamamoto added, "If this is the ultimate power that Ichigo Kurosaki possesses, then this is it. The fate of the world rests on his shoulders. He has never failed us once, and hopefully he can do the impossible yet again and save us all.", the Head-Captain finished. When he spoke, everybody went deadly quiet to hear what he had to say. Once he was done, some people either nodded, or did some other form of action, but they all focused back on the fight that was coming down to the wire.

"Enough of this playing around. Come on Aizen, give me all you got. Let's settle this.", Ichigo almost demanded Aizen to do while glaring holes in him.

"For once, your right. It's about time to get serious. Okay, Ichigo Kurosaki, I'll grant your wish. Prepare yourself.", Aizen said in response. He held his zampaktou out upside down in front of him. "I'll show you 100% of my power, then turn you to dust.", Aizen finished with an eerie calm tone.

"Time to die. Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu."

* * *

That took a while. Here's chapter 2 for all of you. The next chapter will be the conclusion for the fight between Ichigo and Aizen, and also the unveiling of a new technique for Ichigo, and then I'll be able to actually get on with the story. Tell me what you thought of the fighting sequences, were they to fast, slow, confusing, unsatisfying, whatever. I'll try to get chapter 3 up and running soon so until then, R&R!


	3. Flashbacks 03

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.

"Time to die. Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu."

* * *

Once Aizen stated these words, the air itself cracked, and even made the sound, like glass, looking like a giant, glowing spiderweb around Aizen. The blade disappeared, but that didn't mean that Aizen was defenseless. It was only for an instant, but Ichigo could've wore that he noticed the environment around him flicker from white, back to their basic color. 'What the hell the hell was that?' Before he had the opportunity to have another thought, Aizen charged at Ichigo. Ichigo raised Zangetsu to block and expected to hear metal on metal, but didn't. Looking at Aizen's hand, Ichigo found that Aizen's zanpakutou had disappeared. Before he could even question the reasons why Aizen would sheath or leave his zanpakutou behind, Ichigo felt the air rush out of his lungs as _another _Aizen had appeared and struck him from behind, blasting Ichigo about 40 feet back. Now, there were _two_ Aizens in front of Ichigo standing side by side, ready to do damage in any way they can. Ichigo was about to charge, but was stopped by a dark, green cero. 'A dark, green cero? The only one that can launch a cero of that color was Ulquiorra, but didn't kill him?'

"Very perceptive, Ichigo Kurosaki.", a cold voice said with a dead tone. An all to familiar dead tone.

"Hey, I get him first. I want a rematch.", another voice said that had the tell-tale tone of a Kenpachi sized smirk on the persons face. This voice was also familiar.

"No way.", Ichigo whispered to himself while looking in the direction of the cero blast. There, on the top of a somehow flawless looking building, stood Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, Stark, and Harribel. Ichigo was at a lost for words. Who wouldn't! Two out of the five, he personally killed, witnessed one die right before his eyes, and the other two, based on his understanding, were killed by the Captains. Sure, Ichigo, when he had his mask on, was unbelievably strong. He could kill Grimmjow with it on, and probably Nnoitra if he was at full power and uninjured, but the numbers 3, 2, and 1 espada! No way Ichigo could beat them all, especially all at once, _while at the same time, _fighting Aizen. While Ichigo was mentally shocked, his ears still picked up Grimmjow's statement. "Well, can we get him or not?"

"Yeah, I'm want to kill that bitch ass, motherfucka'.", Nnoitra followed after Grimmjow. After some muttering that Ichigo didn't catch, Ulquiorra spoke.

"We won't touch that trash unless lord Aizen commands us to."

"All ways the loyal one. You may handle him however you five see fit.", came Aizen's voice from behind Ichigo. Ichigo was about to turn and face the direction that the chilling voice originated from, but stopped, noticing that a blur of a figure with some blue on it came rushing at Ichigo. Ichigo almost didn't have time to bring Zangetsu up in time to block the sword that, in his eyes, came from out of nowhere. When he focused on the figure, it was Grimmjow that made the first move.

"Hey there, Ichigo. Miss me?", Grimmjow said with obvious glee in his voice. "Now, you and me can have that rematch. And this time, I'm going full out early!", Grimmjow finished with a strong push that sent Ichigo another 15 feet. Immediately after stopping, a huge blade that looked like the fangs of a beetle came flying towards Ichigo from the left. Ichigo dodged this time, but only just. The blade came up again, and Ichigo raised Zangetsu up to hold it in place. Looking to who the blade belonged to, Ichigo remembered his name clearly. It was Nnoitra. "Ha! Your actually doing better this time, Soul Reaper! This should be some fun!", Nnoitra stated while pulling back his Zanpakutou and hitting Ichigo again with it, then jumping back a little distance. After two consecutive times of the same thing, Ichigo stood ready for a third one, but it never came. Looking back, Ulquiorra, Stark, and Halibel were still standing on top of the building. Feeling a immense amount of spiritual pressure coming from his right, Ichigo looked back at Grimmjow, who had moved into some sort of stance. Ichigo quickly recognized the stance, and became instantly worried as Grimmjow put his left hand over the flat of the blade, and scratched it while saying, "Grind, Pantera!". Feeling another strong spiritual pressure from his left, Ichigo looked with dread as Nnoitra finished building up his power, assumed his stance, and yelled, "Pry, Santa Teresa!" As both 6th and 5th espada went into resurrections, Ichigo was literally planted on the spot as the power and pressure of both of the arrancars pressed against him. 'Damn it, just dealing with one while in their resurrection is bad enough, but two! Not to mention the other three that haven't even moved yet. If I don't do something, then Aizen's going to have a one way ticket to the Soul King. Hell, if I don't do something, I won't even have a chance to stand against Aizen.' Ichigo couldn't think anymore as he felt one of the two immense pressures moved at neck-breaking speeds. Ichigo flash-stepped up to avoid a hit by Grimmjow, who now looked like a leopard on two legs. While he was going up, Ichigo blocked a blow from Nnoitra, but because he had five more arms thanks to his resurrection, he avoided two more strikes but was cut in three different areas. Grunting in pain, Ichigo pushed against Nnoitra a little and then kicked him back, just to run into a backhand to the cheek, courtesy of Grimmjow. While flying down to the ground, Ichigo had a realization. While running down the dongai to get to the soul society, his dad told him a little bit about how to break part, if not all, of Aizen's hypnosis.

_"If your caught in one of Aizen's illusions, up your spiritual pressure as much as you can. That way, your spiritual pressure can overcome and counter his, and then you can get back at least some control.", _Isshin's out-of-character voice came practically out of nowhere. 'Damn, never thought I'd have to say this but, thanks dad. Can't Believe that I forgot about that', Ichigo thought, mentally berating himself. 'Maybe the espada are an illusion.', Ichigo concluded, as he came crashing into the ground. Ichigo was in the middle of a crater with a lot of ruble in it. While in the crater, Ichigo began to raise his spiritual pressure, which actually raised the rocks as well. Right before he stopped, Ichigo almost missed the white flash that he saw earlier, but he saw it. 'So that's when I was caught in it.', Ichigo mentally stated while capping his pressure. Ichigo looked around, but when Aizen was nowhere to be seen, Ichigo tried to look for his spiritual signature. When Ichigo completed the process of materializing them, Ichigo saw the black ribbon that he saw earlier. 'Whose ribbon is that? Could it be Aizen's?', he wondered to himself. Deciding that it was, Ichigo grabbed it and followed it to a familiar setting. 'The park, why would he be here?'

"So it looks like you found my spiritual ribbon, congratulations.", Aizen said, mock clapping while sitting on the bench. Something was off about the bench though, it seemed familiar.

"Well, if your ribbon is black, then your pretty findable.", Ichigo said in his hollowfied voice. The mask was cracked in multiple places and half of the mask had broken off thanks to the fake espada. "What was with the espada? You miss you old friends?"

"Me, feeling lonely at the lost of a couple of useless pawns? How more ignorant can you be? I never cared about any of them. They were strong, but they fulfilled their duty and are replaceable; they have no further use.", Aizen responded, sounding offended by the question.

"That's a new low, but I shouldn't expect any less from you. You disgust me.", Ichigo said while tightening his grip on Zangetsu.

"I don't care what you think of me. You are nothing but a troublesome obstacle in the way of my destiny that must be removed if I'm to achieve said destiny.", Aizen came back casually, as if talking about the weather. Then he got up, looked around for a moment, then turned his attention back to Ichigo. "Have you still not noticed, the area we're in?"

"What are you talking about? This is the park. I've been here a few times, but it's nothing special.", Ichigo replied, narrowing his eyes. Really, what was so special about this place?

"If you don't remember, then I guess I'll show you. Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu.", Aizen stated, releasing his zanpakutou. "I'll show you why this place should be special"

For the third time, Ichigo noticed the white light,indicating that he was under Aizen's illusions. Expecting an attack, Ichigo readied himself. Then he noticed a slim figure, brown hair, brown eyes, and a smile that only one person that Ichigo knew could do. 'Mom?' Holding her hand was an orange-haired boy with the same brown eyes as the woman, and a happy expression on his face. He recognized it as himself. "What the hell is this? You going to get to me by using my mother?", Ichigo yelled in the air, since Aizen disappeared during the white flash. The woman and the boy were walking on the path in the park when, from behind, a criminal swept up the little boy. Turning around, the mother figured shouted and cried, but the robber kept on running. Right before the robber made the turn to leave the park, he stopped, and just fell down in a heap on the sidewalk. The boy was unconscious, while the mother finally came and swept the boy up and left, crying and sobbing all the while. 'What just happened?'. Out of nowhere, a voice seemed to come from all directions, Aizen's voice.

"This is the day when you first used your powers. Your spiritual energy literally knocked out a the human about to run off with you. The reason you don't remember this is because you were unconscious when it happened, and your mother didn't know anything about it. She also never told it to you, believing it better that you didn't know. Her ignorance stopped you from having a head start on you powers. If Masaki Kurosaki let you know about this earlier, you would've become so much more stronger."

"Don't EVER, say my mothers name ever again, or talk that way about her! She had her reasons, and that's all you need to know!", came back the _very _angry voice of Ichigo.

* * *

While Ichigo was busy fighting Aizen, everybody else was growing tense. The longer the two fight, the more each blow was vital and decision-making. Since Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro didn't know the situation, they decided to ask around. They went to the three people that they actually knew, which was Orihime, Chad, and Uryu. Standing next to Orihime, Tatsuki asked her,

"Hey, Orihime, you know whats going on, can you fill us in?", which was followed by nods from the others. Orihime was about to answer, but stopped herself. What can she say, if the guy in white wins, then we all die and if Ichigo wins, then we all live? Noticing her hesitance, Uryu decided to answer the question.

"This fight determines the course of the entire world, this one, and ours. Right now, if the guy in white, who's Sousuke Aizen, wins, then we'll all suffer with no hope of ever going back the way things used to be. Our only hope is that Ichigo can beat him, and bring peace and serenity back to all of us.", as he finished, Pesche thought now would be a good time to mess with the Quincy. Putting an arm over Uryu's shoulder, this is what he said.

"That's right Chad ol'buddy! Way to hit the nail on the head."

At that, just about all of the students jumped back in surprise.

"Uryu, who or what is that?", Keigo asked with a shaking hand.

Uryu was struggling to remove Pesche off of him, so Chad answered.

"This is Pesche, and he's what we call a hollow. There're different types of hollows, and he's an arrancar, one of the strongest. Usually, hollows are blood-thirsty, instinctive creatures that hunt human souls. Pesche is an exception, he doesn't kill and is more of a pacifist.", Chad answered in his usual quiet, almost toneless voice. When he finished, Uryu conveniently removed Pesche from his shoulder. Even though he was forcibly removed from Uryu's shoulder, his self-esteem didn't deteriorate and he enthusiastically got up and introduced himself to the others.

"Hi, I'm Pesche! And this is my brother, Dondochakka.", Pesche said to Keigo, shaking his trembling hand while motioning towards Dondochakka. When Dondochakka finally got over to Pesche and the others, Keigo grew even more wary. Then, acting as his usual self, Dondochakka imitated Peache and took Keigo's other hand and started to shake it rapidly.

"Hello, I'm Dondochakka, don't ya know!", he said to Keigo, who was on the verge of passing out.

"Oh! I almost forgot, this is our sister, Nel.", Pesche said while getting on one knee, bowed his head, and raised his hands towards Nel. Dondochakka did the same. At hearing her name, a young Nel looked towards what she considered her new 'brothers and sisters', which always made everybody smiled. Ever since her body went back to her old form, she's been shifting between stages, and she just happened to be in her child form. That didn't last long however, when all of a sudden, a 'pop' was heard, and pink smoke filled the air around her. This took the attention of some of the other soul reapers including one or two captains. When they first encountered the three hollows, they were on the verge of annihilating them on the spot, but after some quick explanation by Chad, Orihime, Uryu, Rukia, and Renji, they decided to let them live but still kept a close eye on them. The fact that nobody noticed the pink smoke until somebody asked about it caught some of the captains off guard though they did a really good job of hiding it. Once the smoke cleared, the true form of Nel emerged, which was completely eyed by Keigo who when from nervous to drooling in a moments notice. Even some of the soul reapers looked a little surprised at the look. Most of the guys were drooling, some of the women looked with awe while some looked with jealous eyes, and others just raised an eyebrow. Nel must've not been aware of the change for she just waltz over liked nothing happened.

"Hi. My name is Nel. Whats yours?", she asked politely. What shocked the people that didn't know Nel that well would be surprised to hear her voice. Everyone was aware of how she sounded like when she was a little kid, but now that she was in her adult form, you would expect her voice to change. Instead, it remained the same as her voice as a child. With stars for eyes and a trembling hand that went a little higher that the usual handshake hight, Keigo forced himself to pull himself together and answer Nel respectfully.

"I'm Keigo Asano. I'm Ichigo's friend.", when Keigo finished, he didn't know if he was in heaven, or hell. At the sound of being Ichigo's friend, Nel scooped Keigo in one of her 'hugs'. As if squeezing the life out of him wasn't enough, she started to shake him to and fro.

"Your one of Itsugo's friends too! So am I!", she yelled enthusiastically. If she would've squeezed any harder, let's just say that Keigo would _really **not**_ want that to happen. If Nel would've stopped cheering, then she would've heard Orihime shouting at her to stop and that she's killing him. But, as luck would have it for Keigo, Nel returned back to her child form, and couldn't fully hug Keigo around or lift him like she was just a second ago. Keigo's chest grew about three times bigger due to the air intake that he forced into himself once the 'hug' had ceased. Though he couldn't help but think that he had a broken rib or two.

"Ohhh... my ribs hurt.", he complained.

"Let me see them.", Orihime asked

"Sure, go ahead."

Looking over his ribs, Orihime found that Keigo (well Nel) had indeed broken a rib. She used her Santen Keshune to heal Keigo, who jumped at the sudden appearance of the golden semi-circle that surrounded him. Keigo, Tatsuki, and Mizuiro, who had been listening the whole time instead of jumping at every single sound that came, looked on with awe at the power that Orihime commanded. Once he was healed, Keigo was about to ask what Orihime did when the entire environment flashed white for just a half of a second. So fast that you would barely notice it. Looking back at everybody else with wide eyes, he asked, "Am I the only one that saw that, or did anybody else notice that flash?"

"Yes, we all noticed it. We are in one of Aizen's illusions. Remember, nothing is real, be wary.", head-captain Yamamoto stated. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, they saw what looked to be a middle-aged woman and a young child that with orange hair. The two looked alike in some ways. They both had luscious, brown eyes and shared the look of pure happiness with similar smiles. Then some kidnapper came, and in one fell swoop, scooped up the child and bolted off with him in the opposite direction. The woman was distraught, while the child cried for a moment, but the sobs quieted down as the kidnapper ran further. The woman couldn't keep up and the happy look on her face was non-existent; replaced with hate, anger, and a heart-wrenching sad look on her face. As they focused back on the kidnapper, they saw that he had just collapsed on the ground like he had been hit over the head with a blunt weapon and went into unconsciousness. The child rolled away but also looked unconscious. After a few moments, the distraught mother finally caught up and picked up the child and ran back down the road and away from the scene. As the figures faded away, they could hear Aizen speaking about how this was some memory that Ichigo couldn't remember, which received a very rude response by Ichigo. In the response, Ichigo mentioned his mother. Once everyone connected the dots, their faces became grim as they could now fully understand who the people in the 'memory' were. The orange-haired child must've been Ichigo, and the woman must've been his mother. But, what none of the soul reapers could understand, was why Ichigo became so irritated when Aizen mentioned his mother. From what they heard, Aizen didn't speak ill about her. Only Tatsuki, Orihime, and Rukia truly knew why. But that didn't stop Keigo from asking the question that was on everybody's mind.

"Why did Ichigo get so made when that Aizen guy mentioned his mother?", he asked all three of the women. This attracted the attention of just about all of the soul reapers around. When they were asked that question, Orihime looked down to the ground and looked like she was about to cry, while Tatsuki and Rukia's face became grim. Tatsuki decided to answer.

"It's because Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, died. From what I heard, murdered in fact.", Tatsuki's tone of voice matched that of her face. The answer had an impact on everybody in attendance. Rukia continued.

"Masaki Kurosaki died by the hands of a hollow code named, Grand Fisher. Ichigo, though at a young age, could see spirits but his mother couldn't. He saw what he thought was a little girl about to drown herself. He released himself from his mothers grasp and charged at the spirit, trying to see if he could stop it. When he didn't, he got thrown roughly by one of grand fishers tentacles. He went unconscious from the impact, and Grand Fisher attacked the mother and left Ichigo there under his own mothers dead body.", Rukia stated, earning an even grimmer look on everyones faces.

"That's despicable. Knowing that his mother died in front of his eyes and still uses her as a lure to make Ichigo lose his focus is no way to fight.", Kyouraku stated with a disgusted tone.

"But how does Aizen know that Ichigo's mother was killed?", Toshiro asked Rukia.

"Because Aizen was the one who sent Grand Fisher to murder Masaki Kurosaki." Silence. Complete and utter silence. If Aizen was the one who sent Grand Fisher, then Aizen knew all about what was going to happen and everybody played their part just like Aizen predicted. He knew everything that was going to happen before anyone else. He truly was evil.

"Seems like this battle has been going on without any of us knowing about it. Not even Ichigo.", Ukitake said now watching at the battle with a new look. "This fight isn't just about the world or us, it's personal as well.", Ukitate finished. Once he finished, everybody focused their attention back to the fight. Even Keigo stopped asking questions.

* * *

Ichigo charged at Aizen with new found anger towards Aizen. He flash-stepped in a zig-zag pattern towards Aizen. When he reached him, he stopped on the right so he slashed left. The blow hit thin air as Aizen spun around and attempted to kick Ichigo on the torso. Thanks to his mask, Ichigo just barely missed a broken rib or two by jumping back a little, and then sent a strong Getsuga Tensho at Aizen, who dodged by jumping up and then charged down at Ichigo. Ichigo made a quick jump to the right, avoiding Aizen, and launched another Getsuga. However, instead of watching and waiting for the Getsuga to throw up a dust cloud and waiting for that to clear, Ichigo charged right behind the beam. Aizen landed a little to hard and didn't have time to dodge so he just stuck his hand up to catch the beam, not knowing a masked Ichigo right behind it. He caught it and crushed it, just to notice a black blade right behind it coming at him with some force. Aizen tilted his head a little and just missed the edge of Tensa Zangetsu. He was about to move, but a well placed kick connected with his mid-section, sending him back about 10 feet and slightly out of breath. Ichigo didn't waste time at the opening and charged towards Aizen, but was stopped by a ball of water. 'Where the hell did that come from?'

"Cascada", and right after the word was said, a huge wave of water came and swept up Ichigo, who used his spiritual pressure to help settle himself. After that, Ichigo noticed blue and when he looked, he saw what looked like a wolf, but glowing blue. 'Wha-' before he could finish, another wolf bit him and just exploded, but the explosion felt and looked like an espada level cero. 'What the hell was that?', Ichigo thought when he came out of the blast with a few singe marks and burns. "Still haven't figured it out, Ichigo Kurosaki?", a dead toned voice came from behind. Ichigo knew immediately who it was and just to confirm his guess, a green spear charged though the air, missing Ichigo by a hair, and making a large explosion far in the distance. Ichigo flash-stepped away from where he was and stopped on the top of a seriously damaged building that was still miraculously standing. Looking down, Ichigo saw who he feared, Ulquiorra, Harribel, and Stark all in their resurrection forms. 'That again, that won't work', Ichigo thought, then tried to raise his spiritual pressure expecting the espadas to disappear. But they didn't. 'What? Shouldn't that have made them disappeared?' He looked back at the espadas, but he couldn't help but think that something was missing.

"Peek-a-boo, I'm gonna kill you, bitch!"  
"Not before me!"

Came the replies of Grimmjow and Nnoitra over Ichigo. He had just enough time to notice _two _ceros, one blue and the other yellow, coming at him at the same time. About a quarter of the way there, the two ceros collided and fuse together to make an unbelievably strong cero flying to Ichigo. 'Damn', Ichigo thought while he put in as much spiritual energy he can into Zangetsu for a Getsuga Tensho. Once he felt that he had enough energy, he released one of his strongest Getsuga Tenshos and the two waves of energy met in the center, creating such an explosion of energy that everyone was sure that they could feel it in the real world. Once the dust cleared, there wasn't a downtown anymore besides a few buildings here and there, none of them more then 5 stories high. Ichigo was winded by the exertion of energy he justed used for the Getsuga Tensho. Though winded, he still kept his eyes on Grimmjow and Nnoitra, who looked pleased to see that Ichigo was still alive and can put up a fight. Since Ichigo temporarily forgot about the other three, Stark aimed half of Lilynette (one of his guns) and aimed it at Ichigo. Yawning, Stark mumbled to himself.

"Why are we even here? Five-on-One isn't really my style anyway. Besides, isn't five espada enough? What do you say, Lilynette, how about we go back to Hueco Mundo and find a comfy place to lie down?". Once he finished, the other half of Lilynette (gun he wasn't pointing at Ichigo) came up and smacked him right on his temple. "What! Why? So you can be lazy again? Just do this and then we can, hear me!" Lilynette yelled to Stark.

"...So rude..", Stark mumbled to himself while centering the other half of lilynette, and fired.

Ichigo sensed a force coming from behind him and only thought one thing, 'Stupid! I forgot about the other three.', before flash-stepping to the right and avoiding a cero in the back and possible hole in his chest. At his movement, the other four then moved and started to attack while Stark took the role of sniper and shot ceros from a distance. Nnoitra came and used all six of his arms to make a missile out of himself and assaulted Ichigo, while Grimmjow held his elbow out and started to shoot out little crystals. As soon as Ichigo moved to prevent himself from getting ran through by Nnoitra, be was pelted in the back by Grimmjow's crystals. He knew he could keep up with Grimmjow, so he focused his attention on the weakest espada, and made a B-line towards Grimmjow. He swung Zangetsu and connected, creating a sizable gash across his right arm and then flash-stepped to the other side and was about to attack him until a blue cero narrowly missed him. Before he had time to look in the direction of the cero, Harribel materialized in front of him and swung side ways. Ichigo jumped back as fast as he can and avoided getting cut in half, but still got a long slash on his stomach.

"Your open", he heard from behind him. Ulquiorra came and grabbed his head and threw him into a cero blast that Stark shot just a second ago. Ichigo came out of the cero with burn marks and some of his uniform singed. He was struggling to stand and needed a breather to think but they didn't let him. They were persistent!

"Pf, I thought you were stronger than this. This is getting boring!", a voice said sounding disappointed. Ichigo raised his head and right in front of him, was Nnoitra about to cut him in 7 pieces. They all came down and Ichigo jumped to the left, rolled back up and fired a Getsuga Tensho. It never got to him though, as spear hit it dead center and blew it up. Out of the corner of his eye, Ulquiorra moved in on Ichigo, who just took a deep breath and executed a long, fast flash-step. When he stopped, he moved his head to the side to dodge a clawed hand, and collected spiritual energy around Zangetsu, as if he was about to shoot a Getsuga Tensho. At that, the espadas, with the exception of Stark, appeared before Ichigo.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? That wave of yours isn't going to work.", Harribel said, her first time speaking.

Though gasping for air at this point, Ichigo still remarked with a slight smirk at the corners of his lips, "You say that like you know what I'm about to do."

"And just what-", before Ulquiorra could finish, something about Ichigo changed, but before anyone could figure it out, Ichigo flash-stepped right in front of Grimmjow and slashed in between his shoulder and neck, and continued to go down to his hip, causing a wide-eyed Grimmjow to spurt blood out of his mouth and out of his gash. Then they saw it, the mask broke, but only a piece of it remained on his left eye.

"That's what! It's about time, Ichigo, you actually listened to me for once!", Ichigo said to himself, his voice sounding cold and voiced over. "Come now, don't let me stop you. Come at me with all you got!", the hollow finished.

* * *

The voice and spiritual pressure change flabbergasted everybody. It also worried the Vizards. From their perspective, it looked like Ichigo's hollow just forcibly took over and was about to fight.

"What happened to Ichigo? His voice and spiritual pressure changed and the mask broke.", Ukitake asked Shinji, who looked worried.

"Well, where do you think the mask comes from? Ichigo has a hollow inside is soul and by defeating the hollow and making submit to you, you can acquire hollow powers. The hollow must have forced control over his body when Ichigo was to weak to hold him back.", Shinji Hypothesized.

"It's like the last time me and Ichigo Kurosaki fought. Right before I ended his life, he grabbed Senbonzakura with his bare hand while a mask formed over his right eye.", Byakuya stated.

"That was before Ichigo was even aware of the hollow inside of him.", Shinji responded. "If he lost control now, then the hollow might gauge us as a threat as well. Until Ichigo can get control back, we're all in danger of being attacked by it.", Shinji finished.

"Can we help him get control back?", Rukia asked

"No. This is something that only he can do, and until he does, we won't have a chance to win.", came the grim reply.

* * *

"Are you crazy, soul reaper? Here you are getting your ass handed to you and you want _us_ to go even harder? If you really want to die that badly, then fine!", Nnoitra said, which was followed by a cero. The cero came closer to Ichigo and the espadas expected to see him dodge it, but were surprised to see that he didn't move. Instead, he held Zangetsu high in the air and when the cero came close, brought it down, cutting the cero in two pieces.

"This isn't that weakling that just stood there and took the damage, this is the guy that will give it back and then some. If that's all you got, then I'll be damned. Ichigo put up more of a fight then you!", the hollow said with a maniacal grin. "I'll give you one more chance to kill me, and then you'll end up worse the Grimmjow over there.", he followed with pointing at a still bleeding Grimmjow.

"You think your so tough! Take this, Grand Ray Cero!", a pissed off Nnoitra spat at him while shooting an even stronger cero at him.

"Pathetic!", Ichigo said, sending another Getsuga Tensho which sliced through the Grand Ray Cero and continued on with amazing speed. It was so fast in fact, that it caught Nnoitra by surprise and hit him dead on on the shoulder, which sent him flying down to the ground trailing blood on the way.

"See, I told you you would be worse off.", the hollow commented while spinning Zangetsu on it's chain.

"You're not Ichigo Kurosaki, who are you?", Ulquiorra asked while charging a spear in his hand.

Looking back at the captains, the hollow said, "Like it told that guy with no personality a while back, I have no name!", he finished. Once he finished, he stopped spinning Zangetsu and charged at Hallibel, who didn't have time to block the attack and got a deep cut on her exposed stomach, and two deep cuts on her back. He then appeared on her right and kicked her down to the ground. Ulquiorra threw the spear he had in his hand and sonido'd to the other side and repeated the action. When the two spears crashed into each other, the resulting explosion was unbelievable. It wiped out every building in a 15 mile radius! Thinking he got him, Ulquiorra let his guard down for second. That second was all it took for another Getsuga Tensho to crash into him. Though it was strong, Ulquiorra could still break it with his hand. Once he broke it, another Getsuga came but what surprised him was that Ichigo was right behind him and shot another, sandwiching him in between. The hollow didn't waste time going to the next target. The only one that he hasn't attacked yet was Stark, but that was about to change. With a laugh of joy, he lunged toward Stark, who surrounded himself with his wolves. He circled around Stark so fast that he looked like he was everywhere. (when Ichigo circles his opponents fast enough to look like he's in more places that one.) Since Stark couldn't locate exactly where he was, he just started firing ceros and sending out his wolves to self-destruct randomly. When he moved one of his guns to charge a bigger cero, the hollow wrapped spiritual energy around Zangetsu and flash-stepped to Stark's defenseless right, put his hand on the back of Zangetsu and said, "Getsuga Tensho". This Getsuga wasn't a wave, it was a bomb of spiritual energy, completely blasting Stark and his wolves away and skid across the ground. In a course of about 5 minutes, the hollow at least damaged all five espada without so much as a scratch! Observing all of them, the hollow realized something was a miss. 'Where's Grimmjow?'

As if one cue, Grimmjow came from behind and punched him on the right side of his face, sending him bouncing on and off the ground repeatably for a few moments. He then stuck out his both of his elbows and started shoot his crystals in rapid succession. After shooting out a sixth crystal pair that hit their mark, Grimmjow used sonido to appear behind the holllow and give him four jabs to the stomach, chest, shoulder, and finally to the left side of his face that sent him flying down to Earth. (Well, soul society still, but, you know what I mean) On his way down, Ulquiorra and Stark were firing ceros and throwing spears at the hollow. He was bombarded with cero blasts and spears that ripped apart his body. Right before he hit the ground though, a wave of water came and shot him back up in the air, just for all of the espadas to launch there strongest ceros, their Grand Ray Ceros, and what looked like a lifeless body. Though he looked lifeless, he wasn't, for he thought back to when he saw Grimmjow and Nnoitra combine their two regular ceros and how strong that was. That thought led to this thought, 'Damn, just _two _of their ceros caused that massive creator that just about took the entire downtown district, what would _five **Grand Ray Ceros **_do?', the hollow thought, 'hmpf, Ichigo's going to be pissed.' he thought with a smirk at thinking of the possible damage. Well, he didn't have to think about it for to long as they all fired at once. To counteract the immeasurable amount of pain and damage done to his, well Ichigo's body, the hollow used up every last part of his mask and energy reserves to raise his spiritual pressure and minimize the impact. Then, the moment of truth came as all five ceros connected. 'Damn...sorry, King. Looks like I let ya down...'

* * *

The devastating results of _five _Grand Ray Ceros meeting together met, and most likely exceeded everyones expectations about the damage that something like that can cause. If it wasn't for the head-captain's quick thinking, using Ryuujin Jakka to make a colossal fire-wall, which struggled to keep in the pure energy of the blast at bay, not to mention the shock-waves that accompanied it, then the entire city of KaraKura and it's inhabitants would've all died at once. Once the blast subsided, head-captain Yamamoto pulled down the wall so everyone can access the damage. If there were any buildings left before the blast, then they weren't there anymore. The blast blew away every building that was within the walls of Ryuujin Jakka and then some. It actually created a creator about 150 feet deep, making the area Ichigo and Aizen were fighting in like a sinkhole.

"What happened to Ichigo?", Rukia asked to nobody in particular.

"I don't know. It's like he disap-", Yoruichi started, but bit it back since it would've sounded like the combinations of the Grand Ray Ceros actually _disintegrated_ Ichigo. Even though she stopped herself from saying the whole phrase, everyone else still caught on about what she was about to say, which made everyone grim. Several moments passed without anybody finding Ichigo, until...

"I found him!", Nel shouted. As soon as the words left her mouth, soul reapers, vizards, humans, and hollows alike rushed to where Nel said she found him. Yoruichi was the first one there since, by all respects, was the Goddess of Flash.

"Where?", Yoruichi asked, almost desperately.

"There, falling though the sky.", she responded pointing on some spot on the wall of the creator. When Yoruichi narrowed her eyes and strained her senses to locate Ichigo, she finally caught sight of him. He was, like Nel stated, falling with parts of the mask breaking. What really worried Yoruichi though was that he wasn't moving or even looked conscious.

'No, he can't be...dead.' The thought scared Yoruichi more than anything. By now, just about everyone else found Ichigo falling through the air, and all were having similar thoughts. It felt like an eternity, waiting for Ichigo to hit the bottom but when he finally did, it made a sickening 'thud' sound that echoed up the creator. When the dust cleared, the others finally got a good look at him. If he was alive, it would be a miracle. Ichigo's entire arm that was injured earlier in the fight was detached and laying a little off to the side. His chest looked slightly caved in and his other arm looked bent out of shape in every which way. His legs didn't look to different besides blood all over them. There were cuts, gashes, and lacerations covering him from head to toe, and to top it all off, there was a large, gaping _hole _right square in the middle of his chest. After a few moments of wide-eyed observations, Komamura decided to break the silence.

"This is bad. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but, I think Ichigo Kuro-", before he could finish, the 5 espadas appeared around Ichigo. Then, Aizen appeared a little ways back and started to walk nonchalantly towards him. When he was half-way there, the 5 espadas just disappeared.

"In case you were wondering, the espada you just bore witness to were illusions, but the Hougyoku gives me such immense power, that I can mold the illusions from my spiritual energy, thus, making them become real, and can cause real damage. That is the reason why even though you Captains killed the real espada, they came back. And you, Ichigo Kurosaki, surprised me. You actually hit me with some considerable force. Though in the end, you can't overcome the pure, raw power of the Hougyoku. The world is now mine.", Aizen said with an ice-cold smirk and glare at the Captains. "And I think now, will be a good time to collect my reward."

As Aizen started to walk away from Ichigo, he felt a substantial amount of spiritual pressure behind him. It was so strong in fact, that it immobilized Aizen and rooted him to the spot. Aizen had to raise his spiritual pressure almost all the way just to move. When Aizen turned his body to face Ichigo, he saw Ichigo, with all of his injuries, get up. "What? How are you even conscious, let alone stand? With all of those injuries, you should be dead, and this fight should be over.", Aizen asked him, though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"This fight isn't over. Not by a long shot. In fact, now we can both fight a full strength and truly see who's stronger. What do ya say, Aizen? Ready for round 2?", Ichigo asked with a smirk like he knew something Aizen didn't, while his body glowed blue with black, red-lined spiritual energy circled madly around him in circles. When he finished his statement, all of his wounds started to heal, his arm healed and went back into it's normal shape, while the other arm turned to dust, floated to the shoulder, and materialized into a new, undamaged arm. Even the hole in his chest closed and disappeared. Then his bankai uniform itself changed. The lower half of his coat that was ripped at the bottom changed into a black, fur like material, as well as the collar, and the ends of the arms. His uniform turned from black to white. His hair grew out and long, to just past his hips. Parts of the mask the Ichigo wore earlier started to form at the back of the head, to the top, and stopped right above the eyes. This mask was different from the mask he wore earlier though. This one had horns. Even Zangetsu changed. Ichigo didn't have just one Zangetsu, but _two_. But they were different. One was black with a white stripe going down the entire length of the blade, the hilt, and even the chain. The other Zangetsu was white with a black stripe that went also went the entire length of the sword. Though all of this was impressive, the most captivating thing about Ichigo was his eyes. When he was normal, Ichigo's eyes were white with brown irises. When he wore his mask, black with gold irises. Now, the whites (or blacks) were pure blue that seem to glow, and the irises were as black as Tensa Zangetsu's blade. Ichigo's spiritual pressure also changed. When he was normal, it felt like a soul reapers. When he wore his mask, it had a hint of a hollow's signature. But like this, both were present. They weren't mixing, but they were both out and easily sensible. Though out the entire transformation, Ichigo's spiritual pressure climbed at an unimaginable hight, and his spiritual pressure never stopped swirling madly around him. He even still kinda glowed slightly blue. Aizen, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, The Vizards, Ichigo's classmates, everybody, stood in awe at Ichigo. For the first time, Ichigo spoke, but it sounded like three people talked at the same time. One of the voices was Ichigo's, while the other two nobody knew, though one sounded like it was echoed slightly.

"The last time you raised your power, you said that it was at 50%. Well, right now, I advise you to bring it as high as it can go, or this is going to be a quick fight."

"What did you do? How are you even still alive?", Aizen said, struggling to keep from sounding like Kurotshuchi when he finds something new and exciting to dissect.

"That's none of you concern. The only thing you should be worried about is how much more time you have left in this world.", Ichigo replied. Though still astounded, Aizen managed to sound like his old-self again.

"You have not earned the right to tell me what to do, boy. Even with your new, impressive power, I still outrank you in every way. If I need to, I'll prove it to you again.", Aizen said, scowling. When he finished, Aizen materialized the espada.

Smirking, Ichigo stated, "You said that you make illusions real by molding your spiritual energy and making them real. Let me give it a shot."

At that, Aizen could've slapped himself at Ichigo's stupidity. "You can't make illusions. That's not your Zanpakutou's ability, you imbecile.", Aizen said.

"Oh..", then, Ichigo's spiritual energy that was swirling around him stopped, and was aligned side-by-side next to Ichigo. They started to take a shape, and like ashes, started to dissolve from the bottom, up. One on side, all you can see is black and as you go up, looks like Ichigo's bankai state. Up some more and you find a young, child looking person with a serious look on his face, and long, flowing black hair. On the other side, all you see is black also, but go a little higher, and it goes from black to white. As you go even higher, it would look like a soul reapers uniform, but with the black and white color scheme mix up. But once you get to the top, you would see another Ichigo, but all white, with black and gold eyes and a crazy smirk. They were Tensa Zangetsu and Ichigo's hollow.

"So, you can materialize your Zanpakutou, and what it seems like, you hollow. I'm surprised that you would trust your hollow so freely. Are you sure that you should put you life in the hands of such a thing?", Aizen asked.

"Hey, that's not nice. Do the three of us have to teach you some manners?", the hollow said towards Aizen.

While Aizen and the hollow were having that little conversation, Tensa Zangetsu stated to Ichigo, "The hollow and I will take the mock espada, while you take Aizen."

"Yeah, when you two finish, we'll take him out once and for all.", Ichigo responded. "Hollow, have a ball.", Ichigo finished with a smirk.

"Well then, I guess I won't have to hold back. That's great to know!", The hollow said excitedly. He then assumed the stance that Ichigo would assume to transform into bankai with his version of Zangetsu's cloth wrapping around his arm, and shouted, "Bankai!"

There was a rise in spiritual pressure which seemed to emanate from the hollow. When the smoke cleared, the hollow stood in his bankai which looked exactly like Ichigo's, except the color scheme was reversed, and he had some sort of fur-like material around the cuffs of his arms. But what got people's attention other than the fact that a hollow can learn a soul reapers bankai, was that he had a mask, and his snow-white hair grew to the same length as Ichigo's. This mask looked just like Ichigo's also, but instead of a white base with red stripes, it was black with blue stripes. Ichigo wasn't surprised that the hollow can do a bankai, since he saw and even fought against it, but he didn't expect the mask.

"Hey, hollow, where did you get the mask?", Ichigo asked.

"You know how you were your mask and you can acquire hollow powers? Well, this is my version of that mask, except it gives me soul reaper powers.", the hollow answered.

"What is this? A hollow that can perform a bankai instead of a release? But, it shouldn't be such a surprise since it is Ichigo Kurosaki's hollow.", Aizen commented with a fascinated look.

"Hey, watch your mouth. I had enough of this little talk. Come on, let's get this little party started!", the hollow said, charging at the espada. At this movement, everyone jumped in action. The espada charged at the hollow, while Tensa Zangetsu used his speed to catch up with the hollow. The hollow moved with immeasurable speed, only becoming visible for a second just to disappear the next. Not to be outdone, Tensa Zangetsu moved just as fast. Though the espada struggled to keep up, they still went blinding fast. Once there little battle of invisible strikes came to an end, Tensa Zangetsu and the hollow stood about 40 feet away from the espada. If one took the time to see the damage, they would notice that the espada each had fresh cuts and gashes here and there, while the hollow and Tensa Zangetsu had little to know damage done to them at all.

"I'll take Grimmjow, Nnoitra, and Ulquiorra. You can have the other two.", the hollow stated not looking at Tensa Zangetsu.

"Always got to take more that you can handle, don't you?", Tensa Zangetsu replied, shifting his eyes to look at the hollow.

"Yep. It's more fun that way.", the hollow finished with his signature smirk, comparable to Kenpachi's. Once he finished, he charged at the three espada that he picked.

"Payback time! I'm gonna fuckin' kill you for giving me that little beating, bitch!", Nnoitra shouted.  
"No your won't. Not until I get my own payback!", Grimmjow followed up with. Ulquiorra was the only one that didn't say anything. As the hollow closed in, a blue cero came from his left, but was knocked away by Tensa Zangetsu.

"I'm your opponent, Tia Harribel and Coyote Stark.", he said. Said espada just glared at the teen-looking zanpakutou.

Stark shot another cero while harribel built her spiritual energy to create a cascada. Tensa Zangetsu flash-stepped to the side to dodge the cero and sped down to Stark, who just shot more ceros. Harribel finished and launched her cascada. Tensa Zangetsu avoided it, but Harribel steered the cascada around and came for another strike. Not expecting the water, when Tensa Zangetsu turned, he didn't have time to dodge, so he just shot a Getsuga Tensho though it. The ball of water split in two, and just turned to steam. It surrounded Tensa Zangetsu, making a thick fog with a random cero occasionally being seen through it. Harribel came out of nowhere and left a long, deep cut across Tensa Zangetsu's back. Grunting, he turned around, just to find that there was nothing there but fog. While trying to sense Harribel, Tensa Zangetsu felt something bite him. Looking down, it was one of Stark's wolves, which started to glow brighter. 'Damn..', was what he thought while flash-stepping as fast as he can to avoid a cero bomb. He didn't escape all of it, but he still avoided a lot of pain. As he tried to get his breath, he noticed a jet of water coming at high speeds towards him. Holding his blade in front, he preceded to cut the jet in half, but found it harder than he initially thought. 'Isn't this nothing but water? It shouldn't be this hard to cut through it.'

"This water isn't just any kind of water. It's water I control, and by controlling it, I can make the mere water as strong as stone.", his unasked question was answered by Harribel, who appeared right beside him. "Let me show you. Cascada."

At the point of her sword, a ball of water formed. When it was considerable big enough, she launched it at Tensa Zangetsu, who just finished cutting through the water. He hit the Cascada head on and was thrown a ways back. She was right, being hit by the water was like being hit by a mountain! Tensa Zangetsu was bleeding by cuts made by the water and kind of choked on it, but calmed himself down and focused. When he started to sense for the espada, another cero hit him in the back and sent him down to the ground. Though he went from the sky to the ground, the mist was still around and it was starting to get annoying. Just then, Harribel appeared and gave him two more quick, painful and deep gashes, one on his right arm, and one on his chest. 'Enough.' Channeling his spiritual pressure in his blade, Tensa Zangetsu finally made a move, "Getsuga Tensho."

As if the hollow did it, the Getsuga Tensho wasn't really a wave and more of a bubble of spirit energy destroying everything that got in it's way. When it passed, the mist was gone and the two espada were finally visible. Stark was bleeding from various wounds and Harribel has bleeding just as bad.

"I thought only the hollow could do that.", Harribel stated.

"Yes he can, but he isn't the only one. The attack that I just used and what he used earlier was my original attack. The white zanpakutou he possess is his version of me. It also explains the way he can perform a bankai and not a release like you.", Tensa Zangetsu replied. "You had your turn. Now, it's mine."

As soon as these words left his mouth, Tensa Zangetsu shot a Getsuga Tensho at them. Stark shot a cero at the Getsuga, effectively cancelling both the cero and the Getsuga out. Not even a second after that, Tensa Zangetsu materialized on the side of Stark and gave a deep cut across his back. Stark turned to face Tensa Zangetsu, but he disappeared again. "Over here.", he heard to his left, but all he saw was Harribel. There was something weird going on though, for it seemed like Harribel wasn't moving. Then he felt another deep cut on back, half an inch below the last one. Stark didn't even had to turn this time as Tensa Zangetsu appeared in front of him and said, "Getsuga Tensho."

Stark was taken completely by surprise. He started to fall out of the sky and back to the ground with a huge slanting gash going across his chest, which was bleeding heavily. 'How-'

"If you've lived longer, I would've told you what had happened. Too bad, I won't have time to tell you how I defeated you. Sorry. You were a strong opponent, intelligent, and easy-going person. You have my respect, Coyote Stark.", Tensa Zangetsu stated, (in Stark's eyes), being surrounded by darkness. For some reason, Stark was touched, and was actually glad to be told that. 'Thank you.', he last though, with a honest smile, while fading away.

Once Stark completely dissolved, Tensa Zangetsu turned his attention to Harribel, who looked like she just got out of some trance.

After Tensa Zangetsu launched the Getsuga Tensho and Stark shot a cero at it making the large explosion, Harribel waited for the dust to clear. After it did, he looked to her right and noticed Stark dissolving away and Tensa Zangetsu looking over at her direction. 'Stark, you were to calm and laid back. It doesn't surprise me that you were taken out, even with your immense power. Though you were laid back, I'm still grateful for your sacrifice. Thank you.' When she finished, she charged at Tensa Zangetsu with new found vigor. She was about to reach him, out of nowhere, three deep gashes hit her: one on her thigh, and two on her torso. 'What?'

"Behind you."

Though still charging forward, she managed to turn her head around and see Tensa Zangetsu about to apply a forth strike, but she wasn't going to let that happen. Right before he connected she said, "Cascada." Instead of a ball of water forming above her, it formed around her. When Tensa Zangetsu connected with his swing, the water guarded her and then charged at him. Using his bankai speed, Tensa Zangetsu got out of the way, flash-stepping to the right. While going right, he suddenly reversed his direction, and went left. Moving through the water, he managed to avoid the jet stream and charged directly at Harribel. When he reached her, she had no choice but to block. While they were at a battle of strength, the jet stream turned around and divided into hundreds of individual, pointed pieces coming at invisible speeds. Tensa Zangetsu had to break the battle of strength to avoid getting run through with water, of all things. When he stopped, water was surrounding him and Harribel.

"How did you kill Stark so quickly?", Harribel asked.

"By doing the same thing I'm doing now. The reason why it looked so quick in your eyes was because of the technique that I used. I sent out my spiritual energy and pressurized it to make both me and my opponent move faster. Remember when I did that Getsuga Tensho that you only thought the hollow can perform? That's when your fates were sealed. Since it's my spiritual energy, I can control how fast we go. I can make us move at supersonic speeds, or completely stop you where you stand, as so.", Tensa Zangetsu replied, raising and pressurizing his spiritual energy, which completely immobilized Harribel. "Congratulations, you lasted longer than Coyote Stark, and managed to understand the circumstances of you demise. You had your chance, but you let it go. I had mine, and took advantage. You were just as worthy as Stark.", Tensa Zangetsu finished by flash-stepping to her, cutting her in half, and ending up on the other side of her. As she started dissolve away, he released his hold on his spiritual pressure. Once she completely disappeared, he looked back at Ichigo and Aizen.

"Time to end this."

* * *

I said that this would be the last fighting chapter, but decided to just end the chapter here since it was getting ridiculously long. What did you think about Ichigo's and Zangetsu's new 'power'? Hope you liked it. The next chapter, I promise, will be the last battle chapter. _Then,_ we can start with the actual story. I look forward to your responses.


	4. Flashbacks 04

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

I _'borrowed' _some ideas from the latest manga. Remember, I'll try to find a way to get some of _'your'_ powers in there, just tell me. One of his powers I did at the last second before posting this chapter. This is the last 'Flashbacks' chapter. After this, the actual story will begin. Enjoy.

* * *

"Time to end this."

* * *

"Hahahahaaa!", came the excited voice of Ichigo's Hollow as he charged towards Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, and Grimmjow, who readied themselves. "Finally, a few people with some considerable skills for me to crush! This is going to be fun! Whaddaya say, how about a handicap, 3 against 1? Or, I could just kill you one at a time. Your choice!", he continued with a maniacal look in his eyes and an obvious smirk behind the mask. Nnoitra was the first to answer.

"I don't need these two dead-weights to take out a bitch like you!", he responded with a smirk of his own. Moving his six arms in a ready position, he also charged. "As a matter of fact, I'll be damned if you can even c-", he stopped with wide eyes as he saw a little spot of blood in the air. Then it hit him, the pain that is. Looking down, Nnoitra wasn't cut, he was ripped! And not just one gash either, 4 gashes were going across his chest, two of which cut off 3 of his arms. He lost his two lower arms on his right and one on his left. The blades that the arms were holding were now on the ground. 'What? But when?'

"Looking for these?"

Turning around, Nnoitra felt like he was slapped in the face, which he was. Some hand came around and backhanded him into the crater wall. Looking back at the hollow, he was shocked to see the hollow holding the exact three arms that were removed just a few moments ago under his one. One of said arms was stretched out further than the other 2. That meant that he used one of _his own **arms,**_ to slap, no, backhand, him into the wall. Nnoitra got pissed!

"YOU LITTLE MOTHERFUCKER! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU NICE AND SLOW! THEN I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES AND GRIND THEM TO DUST!", a very, _very _pissed off Nnoitra hissed. He stuck out his tongue, and a little, gold sphere formed. "Cero!" The cero went to the hollow who just threw the three arms in front of it and shot a white Getsuga Tensho threw them and the cero. The white Getsuga Tensho didn't stop there. It went through the cero and hit Nnoitra who foolishly choose to guard instead of dodge. It blasted Nnoitra to the wall again, also with a faint, barely noticeable cut on his chest.

"Ha! You were saying?", The hollow inquired. Just then, Grimmjow appeared behind him, a claw about to come down. Right when the claw was about to make contact, the hollow raised his hand and caught his wrist, then threw him down on the ground. He jumped out of the dust cloud with Grimmjow in tow and threw him to Nnoitra, who just kicked him out of his way. Nnoitra charged at the hollow and started to swing quickly but widely. He was making wide swings that would've been deadly. Even though he was making all of these wild swings, he wasn't able to hit the hollow. Noticing this, he couldn't help but comment.

"What's wrong? You see weaker that the last time you and Ichigo met. I thought you would actually be a challenge. But, then again, you did lose half of your arms. How does that feel by the way?", the hollow would've said more, but was interrupted by a loud yell.

"Shut up! I don't care if you cut off all of my arms! I'm still going to kill you, bitch!", Nnoitra shouted. Then, he brought all three blades together and struck down as one. The hollow didn't even put up much effort to block it and initiated a battle of strength. While in said battle, Nnoitra charged a cero from his mouth. "Take this!"

He shot the cero right in his face. Once the cero hit the ground, it created a dust cloud that Nnoitra jumped out of. He didn't see the hollow anywhere, and was about to say how all talk he was and when it came down to it, couldn't hold his own weight. He was wrong. If it wasn't for Ulquiorra throwing a spear between Nnoitra and the now visible hollow, than Nnoitra would've been cut in half. When Nnoitra caught sight of the hollow, he immediately took a swing for his head, just for him to flash-step back and then charge back at him. Right when the hollow was in front of him, Nnoitra was about to cut his head off, but noticed that when he tried to move his lower left arm that survived, it didn't respond. Looking down, he realized that he was back at two arms with one on each side. Looking back up, he noticed the hollow with his white Zangetsu on his shoulder and a wide smirk on his face. Pissed by the arrogant look, he charged another cero, but was stopped when he noticed an ominous, glowing, blood red light coming from the hollow. Ulquiorra immediately recognized the red.

"Nnoitra, get out of there! Now!"

To late. "Cero.", the hollow said. As soon as the word was uttered, Nnoitra was completely engulfed by it. It was the size and had the power for a Grand Ray Cero! When the cero passed, somehow, someway, Nnoitra was barely alive. Barely because he now lost all of his arms, had both shoulders slashed, cut, and chopped down to the bone, three of his ribs exposed since there wasn't any skin to cover them, legs and feet covered in blood, and to finish it off, a pool of fresh blood all around his feet. Before he said anything, he coughed a little bit of blood just to add to the already sickening large pool of blood. He fell to both knees and coughed even more blood.

"Ha, and you think _you_ can beat me. I saw your little trick to survive that cero just now. You shot yours right before mine hit you, and then you collected all of you spiritual pressure and energy into you blades and body. If you weren't in your resurrection form, you would've been turned to dust. I guess your tougher than you look!", the hollow said with an obvious smirk behind his mask. "I guess you should just die so I won't have to sicken myself with you new appearance." At that, he threw his white Zangetsu from a distance, hitting Nnoitra right in the forehead. With one final cough of blood, Nnoitra died and faded into the wind. Flash-stepping over, the hollow grabbed his Zangetsu and readied himself for another round. "So, who's next?"

"So, that was you. You were the one that caused that form that defeated me.", Ulquiorra inquired.

"Maybe, maybe not. That doesn't matter though. The only thing that matters is that you two, and Aizen is killed.", the hollow said in a confident voice. "Now, who's next?"

His challenge was answered by Grimmjow, who flash-stepped in a zig-zag pattern towards him. Once he got there, he threw a left kick, which was blocked, then followed up with a straight kick from his other foot while pulling back the other foot. The hollow caught the foot, but had to let it go for the other foot came around after landing on the ground. After dodging the foot, the hollow lunged with his Zangetsu, which was slapped away by Grimmjow's right hand. Once the white Zangetsu wasn't pointed at him, Grimmjow used his left hand and attempted to punch the hollow in the mask, but his hand got caught. Once in the hands of the hollow, Grimmjow went for a ride in the air, courtesy of the hollow. While in the air, Grimmjow noticed that something white was coming his way and coming fast. Thinking back to the fight earlier, he cursed himself for allowing himself to be open. Turning as best as he could, Grimmjow shot a cero at the Getsuga, but didn't completely work for the Gestuga, though slightly weaken and smaller, was still coming at him. He stretched out his arm to catch the beam, but some green spear came out of nowhere and obliterated the beam. Looking back, Ulquiorra had another spear in his hand while the other formed another. Grimmjow landed with a thud, but the hollow wasn't worried about Grimmjow at the moment. He focused on what Ulquiorra was doing. Once he finished forming a spear, Ulquiorra combined both spears into one big one and hurled it at the hollow. The hollow concentrated and shot a strong Getsuga Tensho toward the beam. Both beams canceled most of each other out, but Ulquiorra's spear was still in existence, though severally weaken. It was so weak, in fact, that all the hollow could do was raise his hand and catch and destroy the spear. Out of some rubble, Grimmjow shot back up and launched is signature move. Long, blue claw-looking fangs originated from all 10 of his fingertips and continued upwards towards the sky.

"Desgarron!", he shouted. Once he said this, the waved his hands like a tiger would to kill it's prey. All 10 beams went straight for the hollow, who just stared, looking bored.

"The last time you did that, Ichigo drove his blade through the entire length of it, which was stupid in my opinion. He should have just sent a Getsuga Tensho through it, like this!", the hollow said, sending a Getsuga Tensho once he finished. Before the Getsuga Tensho even got close to the Desgarron, Ulquiorra threw a green spear through it, creating a large dust cloud. The 10 waves continued on to the hollow, who now had to focus on Ulquiorra throwing spears at him. Ulquiorra then tried something different. He used sonido to get around the hollow and threw two spears at the same time. When the hollow sent a Getsuga through them, Ulquiorra came to the other side and struck one deep blow using a spear in the shape of his zanpakutou in it's sealed form, just glowing green. Once the blow was delivered, Ulquiorra used sonido again to get out of the way of the Desgarron, which finally reached the hollow. The impact of the Desgarron and the hollow's body made a uneasy slicing sound ripple around the crater. When you look back at the hollow, you would see that all 10 fangs impaled some part of the hollow's body, for 4 fangs went through the ribs, 1 in each arm, and 2 in each leg.

"Now, Ulquiorra!", Grimmjow yelled. Not wasting any time, Ulquiorra used sonido to get over the hollow and threw a spear, then followed up with a cero. The cero caught up with the spear, which exploded the second it made contact with the cero. The cero sucked up the exploding energy, which morphed the cero into a ball of destructive spiritual energy coming straight at the hollow. Though full of wounds and the 10 beams still stuck in his body, the hollow was able to raise his white Zangetsu to catch and try to push it back. Seeing the cero still there and not moving or exploding, Ulquiorra collected a spear and hurled it at the cero, which detonated it. The resulting explosion was unbelievable! Once the dust cleared, the blast resulted in a crater in a crater. There weren't any signs of life at all.

"You asked you was next. That would be you. Funny, you put up more of a fight the last time we met. It's a pity that you had grown weak.", Ulquiorra said in his toneless voice and expressionless face. Grimmjow appeared next to him.

"Guess thats it then. Let's go kill the other one and then we c-", he was interrupted by a voice. It had a slight echo to it.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

When the two espada turned to look at the direction of the voice, all they saw was white as a Getsuga Tensho came flying towards them. They had to push themselves to get out of the way, but they did. When Grimmjow landed, he received three cuts on his arm. When he turned around, he received another two cuts on his back, and when he turned back, got a solid punch in the face that sent him back a few feet. When he came to a halt, Grimmjow was dazed and confused. Just to add to his confusion, a blue bolt of lighting struck him in the leg and went completely through. He looked down to analyze his leg, but felt something behind him. He turned to find a the hollow about to give him another cut on his chest, which he did. He held his hand out and pointed his finger. A blue ball that seem to discharge formed at the end of it.

"Bakudo Number 4: Byakuri.", The hollow stated. At that, the ball of blue light shot forward and hit Grimmjow right in the collar bone. Without saying the name, eight more lighting strikes impaled Grimmjow, who just stood there, helpless. "You ran me through ten times. Now, it's my turn. You tried to finish the job, but you didn't. Unlike you, I'm a finisher.", the hollow finished with raising Zangetsu up and struck down on his shoulder, down. When he retracted Zangetsu from Grimmjow's body, he gave one more solid punch to the side of his face, sending him to the ground. Grimmjow never made it to the ground though, for he started to deteriorate. By the time he reached the ground, he turned completely to dust. Ulquiorra turned in time to see the end of Grimmjow as the hollow gave a punch to the side of his face. Ulquiorra didn't have any idea about what happened. One minute, he and Grimmjow stood victorious, the next, Grimmjow was killed by the person they believed they killed.

The hollow now turned his attention to Ulquiorra, who spoke.

"Impossible. You should be dead. How did you survive that cero?", he asked in his dead tone voice.

"I'll admit, that little combination got me worried there for a second, especially when it exploded when I was holding it. When it exploded, I used my own combination. I used my strongest Getsuga Tensho and cero and combined them. It blasted your cero away and I used Flash-stepped away. Though I didn't get away entirely. When the two of you thought I was dead, I used that to get around to get a vantage point. I was able to killed Grimmjow because I used the effects of my mask. I'm a hollow, remember? Haven't you figured out that I was using flash-step instead of sonido? When the cero exploded, I had to combine both to make it out of there in one piece. It's also the reason why I can use Kido. The fact that I took damage meant that it was stronger that I originally thought. You should be proud, you actually hurt me. But now, I'll have to kill you, then help Ichigo kill Aizen.", the hollow said with a serious tone for once.

"That so? You sound so confident that you'll succeed. What would happen if you don't do what you say?", Ulquiorra responded, charging two spears. When he finished saying his statement, he combined the two spears into a sword. It looked just like his sealed sword despite the fact that it completely glowed green.

"We will. Me, Zangetsu, and Ichigo. The three of us will save this place. That's a promise.", the hollow responded with an uncharacteristic determined tone in his voice. His spiritual energy shot through the roof, as his white Zangetsu started to wrap itself in spiritual energy and glow white. A cero started to form in-between the horns. "Come on. Do that combination again. Which ever one is stronger wins."

Ulquiorra responded with raising his own spiritual energy. When both combatants got their spiritual energy as high as they could go, they let off there most powerful attacks. Ulquiorra threw his sword and shot his strongest Grand Ray Cero at it, making the ball of destruction. The hollow shot his strongest Getsuga Tensho first, then released the cero after it. Once the cero caught up with the Getsuga Tensho, they formed an arrow, with the Getsuga as the tip and the cero as the shaft. The ends of the Getsuga had little streaks of red trailing behind it, while the cero had a spiral of white going up and down it's entire length. It was impressive. When the Grand Ray Cero and the Getsuga Cero collided, it was slightly smaller than the 5 Grand Ray Ceros, but that still didn't mean that the result was disappointing. It was destructive! It probably made the crater uneven with one side about a whole 15 feet deeper than the other side. After a good while, the dust finally cleared, one would see the hollow with numerous wounds standing over a nearly vanished Ulquiorra.

"You did pretty good, Ulquiorra. But, I still win.", by the time he finished, Ulquiorra completely faded away. Turning around, the hollow turned to face the figure of Tensa Zangetsu. He decided to used sonido to save the mask. When he got there, he could hear him say, "Time to end this."

"I couldn't agree more.", the hollow got a kick at how fast Tensa Zangetsu wiped his head around to see the hollow.

"Was it really necessary to sneak up on me?", Tensa Zangetsu asked.

"Not really. But it was still fun to see what would happen.", the hollow smirked. His tone went from his usually cocky-self, to a slightly gentler tone, "But, I do agree with you. Let's end this and get it over with." With a nod from the Zanpakutou, they both went as fast as they could to assist their 'King'.

* * *

When Ichigo transformed, _everybody's _eyes went wide, even head-captain Yamamoto. (I tried for about 30 minutes doing nothing besides trying to think of Yamamoto's being wide. I still can't imagine it.) Nobody knew how Ichigo achieved this form, but the feeling of power originating from him gave everyone a sense of security. Nel turned to Urahara.

"What happened to Ichigo? What did he do?"

"I have no idea. I personally thought that Ichigo had died. We'll have to ask him when this is all over.", Urahara replied.

"What about those two blades? Where did they come from?", Kyouraku asked him.

"The last I checked, Zangetsu was only one blade. The only thing that I can come up with is either Zangetsu is so powerful that to fully contain his energy, he must split in two, or Ichigo does indeed have two zampakutou spirits.", Urahara replied.

When everybody focused back on the fight, all they caught was Ichigo saying that he was going to try and make a real illusion, Aizen stating Ichigo's ignorance, and a small 'oh' from Ichigo. They all noticed the spiritual energy that was spinning around Ichigo haphazardly had stopped and divided into 2 forms in black. Then the black seemed to turn to dust and under the black dust were 2 people. One looked like a teenage boy with long black hair, while the other took everybody by surprise. In their eyes, it was just another Ichigo with a soul reaper attire but the color scheme reversed, all white skin and hair, and black and gold eyes. Toshiro turned to Yoruichi.

"To achieve bankai, you must be able to materialize you zampakutou. Yoruichi, do you recognize those two figures?"

"Not at all. The teenage-looking kid looks like the younger version of Ichigo's regular zampakutou, Zangetsu. But the other...I'm not sure who or what he is.", Yoruichi responded.

"It's weird. His presence feels just like a hollow's. Do you think that is Ichigo's hollow?", Hiyori asked Shinji. That got everybody's attention.

"No, it can't be. If it was, he wouldn't be helping us or especially Ichigo. He's a hollow! Why would Ichigo trust something that threaten to devour him as soon as it had the chance? I kinda agree with Urahara, I think Ichigo has two zampakutou spirits."

"Well then how come we never knew about this one?", Renji asked next.

"Maybe the other one is like my Katen Kyoukotsu. The older one does all the talking while the younger one enjoys a game. Maybe Zangetsu does the talking and the other just listens.", Kyouraku hypothesized.

"But where is Zangetsu? Yoruichi knows what he looks like and she says that he isn't there.", Toshiro stated. Everyone went silent at that, not knowing the answer. After some silence, Urahara decided to add a little statement.

"One things for sure, Ichigo at the moment is the most powerful Soul Reaper to ever exist."

That was the statement that told everyone the conversation was over and that they should get back to observing the fight. Once they did look back at the fight, all they saw was the white Ichigo charging with a cry of joy.

"Well, there went your theory about the other Ichigo being the silent one, eh?", Ukitake said looking back at Kyouraku.

"I guess. But charging at three of the espada? He must be out of his mind.", Kyouraku came back with.

"I wonder how strong he is?", was all Kenpachi was wondering. Some people just rolled their eyes at him.

They all watched as the white Ichigo flew towards the three espada, but what got their attention was the blue cero coming at him. When they thought it was going to his him dead on, the teenage-looking spirit came and swatted away the cero to some other direction with some blade. Looking at the blade, they were surprised to see that the blade looked just like Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu. The teen then flash-stepped over to Stark and Harribel. He moved with great agility, dodging ceros and water waves. They couldn't see the fight for long though for a fog completely engulfed the three. After a while, a large semicircle of spiritual energy exploded out and around, blowing away the mist. When they all could see again, Stark was fading away while the teen focused on Harribel. They had to strain their hearing but they heard how he defeated both of them.

"Unbelievable. Those two gave us one hell of a time, and that spirit took them out so easily.", Ukitake said.

"Ha, I wouldn't want to be on Ichigo's bad side now.", Kyouraku said with a smile and a laugh.

While some were watching the fight with Tensa Zangetsu and the two espada, some others were watching the fight between the hollow and the three espada. When the hollow got there, he stopped, said something that got Nnoitra moving, then disappeared. When they caught sight of him again, he was holding three arms and he used them to slap the charging espada in the face. When they looked back at the espada, he was missing three arms and they found out where he got them. When Nnoitra shot a cero at him, they were surprised to see a white Getsuga Tensho cut it in half and continued to hit the espada on his chest, sending him to the wall. They kept going at it and exchanged a few strikes. When they were in a battle of strength, Nnoitra charged another cero, but what made eveybody gasp was that the hollow was also doing a cero. When it went off, they all noted that the cero was about the same strength and size of a grand ray cero. Once the battlefield was visible again, the espada that was hit by the blast looked like a mess. They could all hear the hollow commenting on it but they didn't hear the exact words.

"I like the way he fights. I'm going to have to make Ichigo materialize him again. That would be fun!", Kenpachi said with his ear-to-ear grin.

"I'll admit, he's very skilled. His flash-step is amazing and his power and technique are incredible.", Ukitake followed

"And to think, Ichigo has these two powers locked within him. I'm glad he's on our side.", Kyouraku added after his long time friend.

Looking back, the hollow looked like he might be in trouble as 10 beams came at him. He was to preoccupied to do anything though for the other espada kept his attention. Then, it struck. They heard about the second part of the attack, and the other espada had sent a destructive ball of energy towards the hollow, who was still in restraints. What astounded them though, was that even though he was injured severally, the hollow was still able to raise his zampakutou to hold off the blast. Then, it detonated. Everyone raised their spiritual pressure to counteract the immense pressure coming from the blast. When they could see again, they didn't see the hollow at all.

"Where is the white Ichigo?", Toshiro asked.

As if to answer his question, they saw a figure and a white wave coming from behind the two espada and a sequence of attacks to one espada in particular that resulted in the death of the arrancar. When the figure held still, they saw that it was indeed the white Ichigo, but he was critically wounded. They heard him mutter something, and then both he and the arrancar raised their spiritual pressure and energy to suffocating heights. The hollow was charging a cero and his zanpakutou glowed white, while the arrancar just charged a few spears. The hollow shot a very powerful Getsuga Tensho then his cero, while the other threw the spear and also shot a cero. The two grand attacks slammed into each other, making the head-captain summon his Ryuujin Jakka yet again to stop the oncoming wave of destruction to save the rest of the city. When the dust cleared, they saw the white Ichigo standing over the fading body of the fallen arrancar. He flash-stepped over to the teenage-looking spirit, exchanged a few words, and they both disappeared.

"That white Ichigo sure is powerful. I would love to go a round with him someday.", Kenpachi said with his grin and his eyes sparkling like a kid giving a king size chocolate bar.

"Indeed. I suspect they went to the fight between Ichigo Kurosaki and Sousuke Aizen. We shall proceed as well and witness the conclusion of this war.", Head-captain Yamamoto commanded. "Bring the humans. They will be safer with us."

At that, just about everybody flash-stepped away with the head-captain. Only Yoruichi, Urahara, Tessi, Jinta, Ururu, Toshiro, Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Renji, Rukia, Uryu, Orhime, Nel and her 'brothers', and Chad stayed with Tatsuki, Mizuiro, Keigo, and the rest of the classmates.

"How did they just-", before Tatsuki could continue, the scenery around her suddenly changed. One second, she's standing on the edge of a crater looking down at something unbelievable with a lot of people she didn't know around her, and the next, the world around her blurred. This went on for sometime, but then it cleared, and she found herself standing on a flat plane with some dead trees in the distance and from what looked like the edge of a cliff and the end of it. The people that she didn't know were also already here. Suddenly, the people that stayed behind with them appeared around her. Her friends and the others that she didn't recognize. Keigo dropped to his knees, while Mizuiro looked off balance. Still on his knees, Keigo was the first to ask...

"What the hell just happened?", in his eccentric tone. He looked as if something wasn't explained to him now, then he was going to lose it.

"It's called a flash-step.", Yoruichi answered. "It's enables us to move over long distances in a short amount of time."

"For me, it's different. It's called Sonido. It's just the hollow's version of the very same technique.", Nel, now in her original form, added.

"Look, it's Ichigo.", Uryu stated. Everyone looked over to the direction he was pointing at. It was Ichigo, but he was doing something, for he was glowing three different colors: blue, black, and red.

"What's he-", before Chad could finish, they found out.

* * *

The hollow charged with a howl of joy while Tensa Zangetsu followed. The espada also charged forward, but the other two were faster. When a blue cero was shot at the hollow, Tensa Zangetsu flash-stepped over to deflect it. Ichigo was alone with Aizen.

"You sure have a rude hollow, Ichigo.", Aizen stated, eyeballing Ichigo.

"Yeah, I know. But that's not the issue. The issue is you. I'll give you one more warning, came at me with all you got.", Ichigo said calmly.

"Again, you try to tell me what to do. When will you learn tha-", before Aizen could finish, the wind was knocked out of him by Ichigo's foot crashing into his mid-section, sending him back about 10 feet. He would've punched him, but both hands were busy holding the two Tensa Zangetsus. Still, it was satisfying to see Aizen's eyes widen at the unseen attack. 'How? I didn't even see him.'

"That was your last warning. Either power up now, or just die without putting up a fight.", Ichigo said, starring at Aizen as if he was trash. Aizen noticed the look and got a little agitated.

"If you want to die that badly, fine. The last time I said that I was going at 100% of my full power, I held it back at 75%. That's why I was so weak. But now, I can fully go all out without thinking that you would die on the spiritual pressure alone. Get ready, Ichigo Kurosaki.", Aizen said. All of a sudden, 8 wings sprouted from Aizen's shoulder blades. That wasn't the only thing that changed, for Aizen's spiritual pressure increased dramatically! Even at his current state, Ichigo could still feel the effects of Aizen's suffocating pressure. His blade also came back, and the pure white uniform that Aizen wore when he first fused with the hougyoku went from a suit to a robe. "Behold, my full power.", the loose rocks were lifted off the ground as Aizen's spiritual pressure and energy continued to climb. Ichigo had to slightly raise his own spiritual pressure to keep from feeling the effects of Aizen's. "Come, Ichigo Kurosaki. Let's go back to the place where all of this first started, and where it will all end.", Aizen said, following with a flash-step towards Ichigo. He brought his sword down and Ichigo raised his two in a X-pattern to guard, catching Aizen's zampakutou in the cross-blades. The impact of the three blades caused the very ground to crack, crumble, and raise in the air due to the spiritual pressure. Aizen pulled back his zampakutou and made a very fast flash-step up out of the crater with Ichigo in hot pursuit. Ichigo knew exactly what Aizen was talking about, Sokyoku Hill. That's when they first met, face to face. With their new, enhanced speed, Ichigo and Aizen reached Sokyoku Hill in about 5 minutes where in would've taken the rest of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and the others about 30 minutes. When they got there, Aizen decided to run his mouth again, much to Ichigo's displeasure.

"I'm sure you remember this place, Ichigo. I could've killed you right then and there, but look at you now. You're just as strong as myself.", he said with a smug attitude and smirk.

"And I'm going to make you regret it, Aizen. Come on, all you did was talk the entire time I was here. If you don't stop stalling and get ready, then I'll kill you without a struggle.", Ichigo responded with a smirk of his own, for he knew that would get under his skin.

"And the entire time, you keep talking like you actually have a chance at topping my perfection. Such ignorance! Perfection is perfection. Perfection is me.", Aizen finished with a flash-step straight in front of Ichigo, swinging his sword to Ichigo's right. Ichigo raised his black Tensa Zangetsu up to parry the blow and tried to counterattack with the white Tensa Zangetsu aimed at Aizen waist and mid-section. Aizen jumped back to avoid the white Tensa Zangetsu, but wasn't quick enough to completely escape from it, for he got a slight, shallow cut on his mid-section. If Aizen was surprised, the widening of his eyes showed it. Though surprised, Aizen didn't let up for he came back with a second attempt to slice at Ichigo. Ichigo ducked under the blade and sprang back up to cut Aizen in two, but missed as Aizen flash-stepped around him and tried for a quick stab through the back. Ichigo moved quickly to bring his two blades to make a X behind his back to protect himself. It stopped the stab, but Aizen flash-stepped over and followed up with another attempt at Ichigo's now unprotected front. Ichigo repeated the action and flash-stepped over and up and swung the white Tensa Zangetsu down on Aizen, who just raised his zampakutou to block. Ichigo anticipated this and pushed down, hard. The sudden push moved Aizen's zampakutou away and Ichigo followed up with another swing with his black Tensa Zangetsu. Aizen used the momentum he got from the push that Ichigo made and did a 360, which allowed him to block his next attack. Instead of blocking though, Aizen flash-stepped around Ichigo and used the momentum for an extra-fast swing to Ichigo's ribs. Ichigo used his white Tensa Zangetsu to block the attack, but the swing was strong enough to push him back about 20 feet. Aizen used sonido this time to get behind Ichigo before he stopped sliding and placed a knee right in the middle of his back, arching Ichigo's back out, and swung the hilt down on his chest. Ichigo shook of the pain and brought the black Tensa Zangetsu to block the attack, while he also brought the white Tensa Zangetsu up, scoring a cut on his cheek. Aizen recovered quickly, kicking Ichigo away. Ichigo turned his body around and fired a Getsuga Tensho with his black Tensa Zangetsu. The attack caught Aizen by surprise so he only had enough time to bring Kyouka Suigetsu up to block. When the dust from the attack cleared a moment later, Aizen had a small cut on his chest, but was, for the most part, uninjured.

"I'm impressed to see how quickly you've adapted with your new power. Not only does in increases your speed, strength, control, and reflexes tremendously, but you also have to adapt with the new zampakutou. Tell me, how does it feel? To hold that much destructive power in your hands? To make that power do your biding? It gives you such a rush doesn't it?", Aizen asked with a growing smirk with each question. He didn't even give Ichigo the chance to answer, for he flash-stepped up to his face and swung down, his zampakutou wrapped in his own spiritual energy. The resulting impact of the collision when Aizen's blade met both of Ichigo's caused a little crater around Ichigo's feet, and rocks that have either been knocked loose or were already loose flew into the air, evaporating while they go higher. "This is why we're here, to fight, and see who is the strongest!", Aizen stated. Ichigo couldn't help but think that that was something Kenpachi would say. On that thought, Ichigo said his next statement.

"Ha, you say you're the most intelligent person around. Under that logic, your no smarter than Kenpachi!", Ichigo said the last part with a humorous tone.

"Please, he wouldn't even be able to find his bed if he wasn't sleeping on it already.", Aizen said with disgust. Ichigo honestly couldn't argue with that. He was right, when it came to direction and location, Kenpachi wouldn't even be able to tell left from right. And Yachiru wasn't any help either.

"Touche.", was all Ichigo could come back with. Having enough with the battle of strength and being on bottom, Ichigo pushed hard and threw Aizen's zampakutou up in the air, leaving Aizen unprotected in the mid-section. Ichigo made an attempt to stab Aizen in his black heart, but the blade suddenly stopped for some reason. 'What the hell?' Ichigo couldn't wonder anymore for Aizen's blade came back down again, and Ichigo had to use the white Tensa Zangetsu to block the attack, while he pulled the black Tensa Zangetsu back to try stabbing him again. Aizen shifted which made Ichigo's attempt to stab him miss, and threw a punch with his left hand. Ichigo saw this and didn't have anywhere to go besides back so that's what he did. The fist was so close that Ichigo could feel the wind come off of it. Once Aizen pulled back his fist, Ichigo jumped back to re-access his strategy.

"The reason why your attack didn't work was because you didn't have enough spiritual pressure to cut through mine.", Aizen said.

"That's nice to know. You have anything else you would like to share with me? Or do you actually want to fulfill this destiny thing you were just talking about a minute ago?", Ichigo responded, then shot a Getsuga Tensho at Aizen.

"Strong, but slow.", Aizen said while the Getsuga came hurtling towards him. He flash-stepped over to the side and raised his sword, then bringing it down quickly. The result of this was a wave that looked identical to Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho.

'What?', Ichigo thought, wide-eyed. As the wave came towards him, Ichigo shot another Getsuga to counterattack Aizen's. When they collided, they canceled each other out. Ichigo was caught off guard after that, and Aizen took advantage, by grabbing Ichigo's head and throwing him across the hill.

"Remember when I said that the espada were nothing but illusions, but the Hougyoku has enough power to make them real? It isn't limited to just the espada.", Aizen said. "Let me show you another trick that I can use to kill you.", Aizen said coldly. While Ichigo was focused on the Aizen in front of him, _another_ Aizen materialized behind him and slashed downwards causing a wide gash going down the back from his shoulder to his hip. Ichigo turned to face the other Aizen but when he did, the one his was looking at flash-stepped behind him and made a mirror of the last attack he just suffered. When he jumped back, Ichigo had a large X on his back. Ichigo looked back at the original Aizen and expected to see two of him, but instead, there were 10 of them! 'Damn, one is enough, but this is ridiculous!' Ichigo thought. 'What can I do?' Ichigo couldn't think anymore for one of the 10 Aizens charged, which set a chain reaction, for the rest charged as well. All Ichigo could do was dodge and use his new speed to get around the group. Then, some sort of wave missed Ichigo by a hair. It looked like Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho but green and black. Before Ichigo could wonder what it was, more came his way and he had to really push himself now. Every now and then, a wave would catch him off guard, cutting here and there, but other times, he could block and break the wave, but for the most part, he would just dodge and miss them entirely.

'What am I doing? Even though it's real, there're still spiritual pressure. If I raise my own, maybe I can weaken them. It would at least break those waves.', Ichigo thought. Putting his plan into motion, Ichigo raised his spiritual pressure to combat Aizen's. Though they didn't disappear, the other Aizen's all seem slower and weaker, and even a little transparent. The waves also showed some positive signs, looking smaller and weaker. Then, they all just disappeared. Only one Aizen was there and all of the waves were gone.

"I decided to save my spiritual energy since you can alter the structure of my illusions. Let me show you another trick, Ichigo.", Aizen said. His wings started to glow red with red lightning sparking across each of them. Aizen's smirk appeared out of nowhere and for no reason. Then, he said this, "Cero." The glowing red on the wings literally came off of the wings and spun around to make a sphere in front of Aizen. The sphere was just a big as Aizen himself. When he said 'Cero', it blasted forward, the ground underneath it crumbling and dissolving marking a clear path from where Ichigo was standing to where Aizen was standing. Ichigo, with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, had to react quickly. He brought up both Tensa Zangetsus, made an X, and wrapped some spiritual energy around both of them. The cero made contact with the Tensa Zangetsus and a huge dust cloud was thrown up as the result. When the dust cleared, however, Aizen was surprised to see that Ichigo was still standing. He might have been surprised if he was still even there. Ichigo wasn't all that injured, minor scrapes and cuts. Then, a red ball appeared inbetween the two horns of Ichigo's part-way mask.

"That cero was pretty good. Let me show you my cero, see if you like it.", Ichigo raised his head up with a smirk at the end of his statement. "Cero." The ball rushed out into a wave towards Aizen, who stood wide-eyed. How was this person, this _human_, able to form a cero and shoot it without the Hougyoku? None at all. Aizen raised his spiritual pressure as high as it can go, and wrapped Kyouka Suigetsu with spiritual energy. He even charged another cero to try and cancel the blast out. He shot his cero to meet Ichigo's cero. Ichigo's cero was stronger for it wiped out Aizen's and even kept on going, though it was weak enough for Aizen to hit it aside like it was nothing.

"So you can even shoot ceros. Tell me, are there any other surprises that you are hiding from me, Ichigo Kurosaki?", Aizen said with wonder.

"You'll just have to find out through experience, Aizen.", Ichigo said back. This provoked Aizen and he moved fast enough to surprise Ichigo. He started to throw stabs and swings randomly to hit Ichigo. Ichigo blocked and counterattacked when he could. This went on for a few moments and then Aizen jumped back. They both suffered very little to no damage in the exchange. Before Ichigo settled down on the ground, Aizen shot a wave at Ichigo, who blocked and broke it barely. Ichigo didn't have time to give a smart comment for Aizen was all over him, raining down with his zampakutou. Ichigo couldn't keep up and suffered deep cuts and gashes. Aizen flash-stepped around Ichigo and landed 2 kicks, which sent Ichigo flying, and gave Ichigo an extra cut on his back. Aizen took his hand and grabbed Ichigo's face, then threw him high into the air. He then jumped up and made a strong cut at Ichigo's mid-section. Ichigo blocked with the black Tensa Zangetsu, but doing so caused him to go flying back down to the ground. While mostly in the ground, Ichigo looked up and saw Aizen towering over him, Kyouka Suigetsu raised high.

"Die.", Aizen said, well, mostly growled. As he brought Kyouka Suigetsu down, Ichigo closed his eyes for the pain that was about to come. Instead, no pain came, only the sound of metal on metal. Ichigo felt a warm and familiar figure encircle his entire body. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see that Tensa Zangetsu was crouching down behind him with his robe spread out and around him while the hollow, still in his bankai form and the mask on, stopped Aizen's blade with his own. For the first time he could remember, he heard the hollow actually roar, like how he would do when he was taken over with his fight with Ulquiorra. Accompanying the roar was a blast of spiritual energy and pressure as the hollow pushed Aizen's zampakutou back, as well as Aizen himself. Tensa Zangetsu helped Ichigo out of the rubble and up to his feet.

"It's about time you two came, I was getting worried.", Ichigo said with a smile.

"The espada were a little more trouble than we originally thought. But, we are here and you can finally beat him.", Tensa Zangetsu replied with a straight face and tone.

"Speak for yourself, I'm surprised that you had trouble with all of them, King. Maybe Kenpachi might put up more of a fight.", the hollow followed after Tensa Zangetsu with his usual, confident tone. The smirk was probably there, but you couldn't see it for the mask on his face.

"Whatever. And let's hope that that would never happen. Kenpachi doesn't leave me alone much as it is. He goes against you, and I wouldn't even be able to go to sleep without Kenpachi coming out of nowhere and attacking me.", Ichigo replied.

"What's this? It seems like your hollow is more loyal than I originally thought possible. And it's fast, able to come here so quickly after it's fight with the mock espada, despite it's injuries.", Aizen said.

"If you keep calling me an 'It', than you'll have an even shorter time alive than I would allow.", the hollow came back with, raising his white Tensa Zangetsu and pointing the tip at Aizen.

"Come on, you can help me and Ichigo kill him. You can see through Ichigo's eyes so you'll still be able to see him disappear.", Tensa Zangetsu said while putting a hand on the hollow's shoulder, kind of like how old man Zangetsu would put his hand on Ichigo's shoulder when he needed the moral support and guidance.

"Fine.", was all the hollow said. They dissolved from the bottom, up. They both turned and looked at Ichigo, who gave a nod and then glared at Aizen. Once they dissolved, the ashes of the two circled around Ichigo. Ichigo's spiritual energy skyrocketed and spread out all around him. It went over the ashes and absorbed them, which made Ichigo's spiritual energy go up even more. Both of his Tensa Zangetsus burst into spiritual flames, the black one with black and red-lined flames, and the white one with white and blue flames. Even Ichigo's blue and black eyes glowed.

"Now I can fight you at 100%, Aizen. You should be happy, it's what you wanted all this time hasn't it?", Ichigo said.

"Please, if you must lie, then at least make a more believable lie than that. Do you honestly want me to think that you weren't fighting me at your full power?", Aizen replied.

"Yeah, that's right. What I was fighting at was really 33% of my full power. See, to materialize my hollow and Tensa Zangetsu, I had to split the energy among us evenly. 100 divided by 3 roughly makes 33. Now that they're back, I'm at my full power. Get ready, Aizen. This fight won't be long.", Ichigo said. Once he finished, he disappeared, and reappeared behind Aizen. Before Aizen even turned to face Ichigo, he already had 4 deep gashes on his back and around the sides to his torso. Once he actually turned to face him, he got 2 more on his chest and one on his right leg. With wide eyes, all Aizen could do was just stand there as Ichigo literally cut him to pieces. Raising his spiritual pressure as high as it could go, Aizen finally caught a glimpse of Ichigo. Ichigo was about to deliver another batch of cuts and attacks. Aizen jumped back and shot a cero at Ichigo. Ichigo brought one of his blazing ( Yes, the entire time, the two blades were still on fire) Tensa Zangetsus and swung down on the cero, effectively cutting it in half. The cero was a distraction though, for Aizen had come from underneath it and delivered one cut on the back of the leg and another cut on his back. Ichigo shook off the pain though and focused back on Aizen, who was in the air chanting something. Once he was finished, Aizen disappeared and some ridiculously large, black block formed in the air and started to fall on Ichigo.

"Hadou #90, Kurohitsugi!", Aizen yelled. The block fell even faster after he finished. Ichigo raised both of the Tensa Zangetsus and charged them with spiritual energy, which made the fires brighter and more ferocious.

"Getsuga Tensho Ball!", Ichigo yelled, swinging both zampakutous down from their high-arching positions, releasing two strong Getsugas, one black and the other white. They lined up side by side and combined with each other. Once they combined, the ends of the Getsuga Tensho folded in to create a ball where one side was white; the other side, black. It connected with the black box and completely obliterated it, and even kept on going. Aizen's expression didn't change as the block broke into pieces. It did, however, when he saw the attack that Ichigo broke it with. It was fast, too fast for Aizen to dodge in time. Aizen moved his wings and arms in front of him to brace himself for the impact. Ichigo watched as his Getsuga Tensho Ball hit Aizen. There was an explosion, and a lot of smoke from the impact. A moment later, he saw a figure falling from the sky. It was Aizen. When Aizen landed, Ichigo flash-stepped over to see the remains. When he got there, even he was surprised by the power of his own attack. His entire body was covered in burns, cuts, gashes, fractures, and blood, lots of blood. As he was studying him, Aizen literally exploded with spiritual energy, which threw Ichigo back. When Ichigo stopped sliding on the ground, he looked back at Aizen, who by a miracle was standing. Aizen's own spirit energy surrouned him, making Ichigo lose sight of Aizen. Then, it dispersed, blowing wind with furiousness. When it stopped, Aizen wasn't in the place Ichigo last remembered him to be. Looking around, Ichigo heard such a deadly roar so close behind him that, for a moment, he shivered in fear. He couldn't even turn around because some skull came around and hit Ichigo on his left cheek, making him fly about 30 feet away to the very tip of Sokyoku Hill. He was still in the air from the hit when another skull came and hit him in his mid-section so hard that he spit out blood and crashed into the ground causing a sizable crater around him. He only got a second to get his bearings for a cero, a very strong cero, was coming straight for him. Ichigo just raised his spiritual pressure and pumped his spirit energy into the Tensa Zangetsus and waited for impact. The cero hit, and in went straight through the ground of the tip, making a huge hole going through the ground. When it was over, Ichigo was on his back, in the air. Various places on his body were cut, burned and bruised. 'What the hell happened? Aizen shouldn't even be alive with all the damage done to him.' Something came from underneath him and blasted him up, interrupting his thought process. Then, a hand, a black and clawed hand, grabbed his head and forcefully threw Ichigo down to the ground.

"That little attack you sent my way was indeed impressive. I might have died if you learned that trick the first day we met, Ichigo.", a rough, cold, and echoed voice said. It sounded like Aizen, but it was changed so much that Ichigo wasn't sure if it was Aizen. Ichigo raised his head, which was a struggle due to the barrage of attacks he just survived,and looked up in the air. He saw something, something big and powerful. "What's wrong, Ichigo Kurosaki? Can't believe your eyes?", it said.

"No, I can't. Your last face was so ugly that I didn't think that there was anything worse. I see that I stand corrected.", Ichigo said also shakily, but with a slight smirk. The creature that Ichigo was now faced with was like a demon out of hell. It was heavily muscled and completely white besides it's clawed hands and feet. It had wings, but they were unique. They were bigger than Aizen's last wings, but what was eye-catching about them was the fact that in the middle of them, Aizen's eyes were in there. Aizen's exact eyes just expanded. The ends of the wings that used to be tipped now had skulls with no eyes, nose, or ears, just a mouth and teeth. Four tails came out of the bottom of the wings. It had three larger than average hollow holes that ran top to bottom on it's upper-body. In the top hollow hole, was the Hougyoku, floating in the middle. It's hair was as long as Ichigo's and had a rich brown color. One of it's hands was black and clawed, but the other was a different story. Aizen's zampakutou, Kyouka Suigetsu, was literally fused with his wrist. Than, the head. It had a sleek hollow mask on it. The middle was black, while the teeth and the sides were white like the rest of it. On the forehead, there was an eye without the pupil. ( It kinda looked like this, (), just with the ends closed ). And finally, the eyes. They were white as snow, but they had and evil about them. They were sharp. Like they could see through you soul, then burn it with nothing but a glare. It was Aizen.

"Now now, let's put the jokes to rest. When this is over, you won't even have a face to compare to mine.", Aizen said in his now hollowfied voice.

"Ha, funny. Here you are, saying that we should quit with the joke, and you say a poor attempt at a joke right after. Maybe that rock gives you strength, but it must take away your intellect. Oops, it must work on me too. You never had any intellect to begin with.", Ichigo said while getting to his feet. Once to his feet, Aizen towered over him. Now, Ichigo was fast no question, but Aizen was so fast that he completely lost sight of him. 'Damn, he fast. How did this even happen in the first place?' Ichigo found himself in the dirt again as Aizen used his regular hand to backhand him on the cheek. He followed up with a kick in the gut, which made Ichigo roll 40 feet back! 'Jesus! Just a simple kick, and I'm thrown this far! It didn't even have any power behind it, like he was casually kicking a rock along the sidewalk. I'm in trouble.'

"I bet you are wondering how this happened. I said that I was at 100%. This was true. I was at my full power. 'My', full power. The form with the wings and hollow powers, 25% of the Hougyoku's full power. As my complete power was concerned, around 40% was used. Your little attack almost killed me. The hougyoku had to release all of it's powers to heal me. You wanted to see my full power, well here it is. This is my final and most powerful form. Get ready, Ichigo Kurosaki.", Aizen stated. By the time he was finished, Ichigo had gotten back on his feet.

"Are you sure, Aizen? That's about, well, I lost count of how many times you said that. If there is anything else that you're hiding, bring it out now, or forever hold your peace.", Ichigo said.

"Of all things, you're still being a little smart mouth.", Aizen said with a hint of agitation. It was hard to tell, since his voice was hollowed over.

"Of course, I pride myself in it. But, you can thank the hollow for about half of it.", Ichigo smirked at the end.

"That smirk is getting annoying.", Aizen stated. At that, he sonidoed over and restarted the fight. He forcibly brought the hand turned blade down while Ichigo raised his two Tensa Zangetsus as fast as he could to counter the attack. The ground beneath Ichigo's feet crumbled. One of the skulls that Aizen had on his back came around and hit rammed it's head into Ichigo's ribs, tipping him over. Another skull popped up, and had a cero charged in it's mouth. 'Shit.' The blast was as strong as a grand ray cero! All Ichigo could do was charge his own and just brace for impact. At such close range, Aizen, for fear of dying by the power of both attacks, was forced to jump back as Ichigo was forced to do the same. The blast was big, but that didn't stop the two fighters as they went supersonic and clashed blades over and over again in with miniature blasts of energy shooting off at random intervals. When both Ichigo and Aizen were visible, they were both war-torn but neither gave an inch. Ichigo was about to charge again when something flicked inside his head. Suddenly, darkness started to overcome him and surround him. The world was getting smaller, while the darkness was getting larger. Then, everything was black. 'Wha, what the hell his going on? I better not be passed out, or Aizen's going to kill me. Damn, if he does that, than... he wins.', Ichigo thought grimly.

From the darkness, buildings, a sky, and a sidewalk and street came into view. The only thing off about these items is that all three were sideways. They were Ichigo's inner world, his soul. 'Why am I here? I need to be out in the soul society to fight Aizen.'

"Don't worry, Ichigo. This will not take long.", a voice came from behind him. The voice was Tensa Zangetsu.

"Zangetsu? Why did you bring me here? You know the situation that I'm in.", Ichigo inquired rather impatiently. "If I'm here, than on the outside, I'm unconscious. Aizen can kill me easily!"

"That problem's taken care of. Right now, the other is fighting Aizen. We need to discuss things.", replied Zangetsu.

"Can't this wait?"

"No."

"Than what do we need to discuss, and make it quick because 1, I still don't trust him entirely, and 2, it's my fight, and I intend to finish it."

"Fine, but listen carefully."

* * *

Aizen was getting agitated. The first time that he had met Ichigo Kurosaki, he was able to stop Ichigo's blade with just one finger, but now, he had to push himself to his strongest just to keep up with him. To make it worse, Ichigo was just a human, a _human_, gifted with soul reaper powers. That, more than anything, pissed him off the most. Not to mention the fact that Ichigo was so hardy. Every time Aizen would put him down, Ichigo would just get back up. No matter how hard he would hit him, no matter how many times he would hit him, Ichigo never gave up. Hell he materialized 5 espada and made them all shoot their Grand Ray Cero at him, which should have killed any breathing thing in the proximity, but he survived and even got back up wanting even more! Usually, Aizen would complement people on that trait, but it was starting to get annoying. About to charge at Ichigo with new vigor, Aizen held fast when Ichigo looked dazed. His curiosity peaked when it looked like Ichigo stumbled slightly. 'What's this?', he thought. When Ichigo was in this form, both soul reaper and hollow spiritual energy and pressure were present, but with his soul reaper energy/pressure a little more distinct. Now, is was reversed. His hollow spiritual energy/pressure was now more distinct than his soul reaper energy/pressure. While Aizen was studying Ichigo, Ichigo just disappeared. Aizen's eyes widen at this. Ichigo reappeared in front of him with the white Tensa Zangetsu raised high, a wide smirk on his lips, a scream of joy, and black and yellow eyes that had the combination of blood-lust and crazy.

"My turn!", the hollow said, bringing down Tensa Zangetsu. Aizen brought his blade up to parry the hollow's blade, but had to jump back due to the fact that the hollow tried to stab Aizen with the black Tensa Zangetsu.

"Why are you here? This is a fight between me and Ichigo Kurosaki, and it doesn't involve you. Go back to Ichigo's soul and rot, and send him to his demise.", Aizen said coldly. Even more so with his voiced hollowfied.

"Don't worry ugly, he'll be back. Just for the time being, let us have the fight that we discussed earlier. What do ya say, a classic fight to the death, you try to kill me, and I will kill you.", the hollow said with his smirk present.

"You sound so full of yourself. Are you sure you can even keep up with me, you worthless hollow?", Aizen replied in his cold, hollowfied voice.

"Shut you mouth, you have no room to talk. You're so slow that I'm surprised that Ichigo couldn't beat you. That won't happen with me though. One fight with me and I'll guarantee you'll leave in either pieces of you won't leave at all."

"Instead of this mindless talk, how about we just fight to see who's stronger? I'll be fun ripping out all of your organs."

"I can tell you right now whose strong in this battlefield, (Charges forward), and that would be me!"

The hollow was half-way there when Aizen decided to counterattack. He shot a cero to throw him off balance and tried to follow up with a slice at his hip to cut him in half. The cero didn't phase the hollow at all while the blade was blocked. The hollow then shot a cero of his own and from such close range, Aizen had to retreat and dodge the cero. The hollow wasted no time in attacking, however, and started raining attack after attack on Aizen. Aizen parried a blow and spun around, using his tail to use as a whip and hit the hollow. Though a mathematician in combat, the hollow wasn't expecting the sudden change in fighting style and was caught by the very tip of the tail. He received a cut on his chest, but that was all. Aizen whipped his tail around and used the momentum to bring his right hand turned blade at the hollow's head. Since his style revolves also around momentum, the hollow was prepared for the attack and blocked it with relative ease. Aizen used the skulls to start beating on the sides of the hollow to slowly weaken him. The hollow was having none of it, for he pushed against the blade and quickly launched a Getsuga Tensho towards Aizen. Aizen dodged the Getsuga, and raised 3 out of his 5 skulls and charged ceros in each. The hollow didn't let them for he was on Aizen within milliseconds and continued attacking, effectively stopping anymore ceros from forming. To gain an advantage, the hollow wrapped both hollow and soul reaper energy into each blade to give them extra power. Aizen just kept his power high and attacked with precision. They started fighting like Ichigo and Aizen did previously. After a while, Aizen and the hollow were in a battle of strength. The hollow and Aizen were in similar shape, cuts here and there. Gashes and life-threating wounds were nonexistent. In this battle of strength, Aizen made an extra hard push to get some space in-between the hollow and himself. The hollow was about to charge again when Aizen shot a cero from all 5 of his skulls, pushing the distance between the hollow and himself. After they were about 50 away from each other, Aizen held up his hand that was open. In his hand, manifested a dark purple ball that had frequent, dark, electric discharges constantly going off. Behind the hand, the skulls were each doing the same thing; instead of a cero, the purple ball, smaller versions, still had a strong feel about them.

"This, you disgusting hollow, is called Death's Scythe. Just one of these is 5 times stronger than the Grand Ray Ceros that the espada could perform.", Aizen stated.

"Wow, I'm impressed. Enough power to power a candle. I would clap for you, but now that I think about it, that's not very strong.", the hollow stated with a wide smirk.

"Than how about I show you exactly how strong it is? Though, after this, you won't be around to comment on the destruction, so I'll be generous and shoot only one. How's that?", Aizen said with a slightly offended tone in the first part but right back to confidence in the second.

"Stop bragging about how weak you are and show me already, because this is betting boring.", the hollow really did have a bored look on his face while changing his attention to some minor wounds that he and Ichigo received.

At this gesture, Aizen face went colder the the tip of Mount Everest in Antarctica. "Die, Death's Scythe."

The ball in Aizen's hand was the one that shot forward, and he wasn't kidding. Like he said, it was just like the five Grand Ray Ceros that the espada shot earlier in the battle, and this was only one, imagine the other four shooting at the same time. Even the hollow was caught a little off guard at how strong it was. He wasn't moved though, and started to fill the two Tensa Zangetsus with energy. When he thought they were strong enough, he shot his attack.

"Getsuga Tensho Ball!", the hollow yelled. The hollow put a little more power in the attack than Ichigo did when he shot it, as a person would see by the size. The Getsuga Tensho Ball met with Death's Scythe, and the resulting power blast dwarfed anything that the Soul Society has ever seen. When everything was visible again, all of the mini-craters that Aizen and Ichigo put into the mountain were gone, replace by a vast, colossal crater that even though they were fighting in the middle of the mountain, some of the trees disappeared. Sokyoku Hill was heavily damaged. At the tip, a sizable hole went completely through the ground, and in the middle of the surface, was a crater of unbelievable size.

The two combatants stood facing each other, both breathing slightly heavier than they were before the blast. The hollow had a big smirk on his face while Aizen was surprised that the hollow not only survived the attack, but also counterattacked and voided the Death's Scythe. There was a moment of silence, but that moment was broken by Aizen.

"My my, you did survive. How strong was my attack?", Aizen asked while glaring holes in him.

"Tch, I knew you were lying. It was nothing.", the hollow answer with a thumbs down.

"Oh? Than how about we take it to the next level?"

"Love to, but I need to go back, this is Ichigo's fight and he should finish it.", the hollow said. "But if he can't beat you, than you better believe I'll be back and finish you myself." At that, he had some far away look in his eyes and sort of slumped over. Then, the intensity in his eyes returned and he stood up straight.

"Sorry for that, I needed to talk things over with my Zampakutou. But, I'm sure Hichigo kept you good company.", Ichigo said. Aizen knew it was Ichigo for the distinction of his two spiritual energy/pressure shifted and his soul reaper presence was on top.

"You gave your hollow a name? Why would you waste time to do something like that for a worthless hollow?", Aizen inquired.

"Hey, stop insulting yourself, that's my job. What, have you forgotten that you're half hollow? To answer you question, I gave him a name because he needed one. It gets annoying calling him 'hollow' over and over again. But, let's end that conversation and get another one going. I saw your attack, that Death's Scythe thing. I want you to make another one for you to have a total of five, and then make them as strong as possible.", Ichigo said.

"How dare you, giving 'me' orders! Don't think that just because 'Hichigo' was able to counterattack one means that you can counterattack 5! If you were paying attention like you claim you were, than you would know that just 1 of these balls have the equivalent power of 5 Grand Ray Ceros.", Aizen looked at Ichigo like he was mad.

"I know exactly how strong they are, and that's why I want you to make it as strong as possible.", Ichigo came back with.

"If you want to die right now, than I guess I've had enough fun, I'll grant your wish. But, I'm not limited to just 5, but 16. My hand, my zampakutou, the four skulls, the two eyes on the wings, my four tails, the three hollow holes on my torso, and my mouth.", as Aizen was listing off the areas that could perform the attack, each area would form a dark, purple ball with constant electric discharges. The only area that didn't form an orb was Aizen's mouth, much to the dislike of Ichigo since he was getting tired of his constant babbling. "To put the power in simple units for you, that would be the equivalent of 80 Grand Ray Ceros! Can you survive that?", Aizen said with an ice cold look in his eyes, tone, and smirk.

"That's even better. Now I know that you won't die so quickly. Make them as strong as you can. This will be the final attack in this war. How does that sound, Aizen. Winner take all?", Ichigo asked with a smirk. All he got for a reply was a deep, blood-gurgling hollow roar. "Good." Ichigo raised his power as high as it can go. The ground around him started to crack, then break off as it raised in the air. Both him and his two Tensa Zangetsus glowed with power. His spiritual energy became visible and swirled around him madly. His blue and black eyes glowed as well, becoming completely blue. Soon, he got his pressure high enough that the rocks didn't raise at all, just dissolve it into rashi. Then, something happened that even Ichigo couldn't explain. The rashi was being absorbed into the two Tensa Zangetsus, making them even more powerful.

'Don't worry, it's what happens when you do this technique.', Tensa Zangetsu said to Ichigo. 'It will make the attack more powerful.'

'You better not lose, king. I weaken him for you so you should be able to kick his ass no problem.', Hichigo added.

'Hey, Hichigo, do you think I can use you like I did when we were fighting old man Zangetsu?', Ichigo asked mentally. There was a pause, but Hichigo answered.

'As long as you don't lose, sure. Hell, I'll be surprised if you even remember how.' There was a slight pause. 'Bout time you ask me for help instead of just ignoring me.', Hichigo said. Ichigo just smiled innocently.

'Yeah, sorry about that. Thank you.'

'Shut up. Just kick his ass.'

* * *

Aizen was also powering up. The electric discharges were surrounding him as the dark purple balls of destruction changed color and went from dark purple to pure black. Even his pressure was dissolving rocks, but they didn't turn to rashi.

Ichigo's spiritual pressure morphed into some sort of face or mask behind him. It only showed from his blue spiritual pressure, but it was white with red eyes. (The thing when Ichigo first fought against Kenpachi.) When Ichigo couldn't raise his energy anymore, he checked back one more time on Hichigo and Tensa Zangetsu.

'You guys ready for this?'

'I'm ready.', Hichigo said.

'As am I.', Tensa Zangetsu followed.

'Then let's kill Aizen, and put an end to this war.' Focusing out in front of him, Ichigo saw Aizen about to shoot his Death's Scythe.

"Come on!", Ichigo yelled out to Aizen. Aizen's response was the balls shooting off all at once. It was more of a wave than a scythe or ball, but it was still very powerful. 'Here we go.'  
"Jinzen Getsuga Tensho!", Ichigo yelled while bringing both Tensa Zangetsus down at the same time.

The blue spiritual energy with the mask jumped first and took the lead. The rest of the energy followed and combined with the blue making a mix of blue, white, black, and red. The Getsuga Tensho was red-lined with a blue base. Black streaks that looked like lightning were all reaching out to the edge from the same source, a solid white sphere in the middle. The face was still present in the front with it's mouth open exposing all of it's sharp teeth ready to devour anything that got trapped in. At the bottom of the Getsuga, a tail of rashi flowed out and back to Ichigo for him to control it. All of this, was the final Getsuga Tensho. The two attacks connected, but unlike the others, they didn't explode and cause a huge dust cloud. Instead, they stayed there in a battle of strength. (Though in this case, a battle of power) One moment, it looked like Aizen was winning, then Ichigo would make a push and then he would be winning. After a few moments, Aizen made and extra hard push and got closer to Ichigo, who had to push even harder to keep the blast from killing him. Seeing that he was close to winning, Aizen pushed even harder. Ichigo was starting to strain under the power. He reached deep down and tried to find more power for the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho. He found some, but it only slowed down the Death's Scythe. Then, some of the weight let up. It felt as if Ichigo was getting a second wind. For some reason, he looked around and saw Tensa Zangetsu and Hichigo on both sides of him, Zangetsu on his left and Hichigo on his right. He made eye contact with both and nodded, mentally thanking them. Since all three were from the same soul, they heard the mental message. The two spirits pumped out as much energy they had left, swung down their own blades, and added it to the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho. This act caused Aizen's Death's Scythe to stop completely, and then get pushed back. Aizen forced more power from the Hougyoku and slowed it down some, but didn't stop it. Hichigo sent a mental message to Ichigo, and he smirked at the idea. Ichigo stopped pushing while the other two pushed for him. It resulted in the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho stopping just in front of Aizen. Ichigo was spent, but made as strong a cero as he could and shot it at the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho, mimicking Hichigo's Getsuga Cero. That was the final curtain as the cero pushed the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho forward. It cut through the Death's Scythe like it was butter and hit Aizen full force. Ichigo didn't see what happened after that, for the cero completely drained him of all his energy and he passed out. But, he left one message that left both Tensa Zangetsu and Hichigo smiling. (Well, in Hichigo's case, smirking)

"The three of us, we win.", and he was out.

* * *

Sorry for the long update, I was a little preoccupied with other things but I put as many hours as I could with this chapter. (13,107 words) This is the final 'Flashbacks' chapter. The next chapter will have the actual story plot so stay tuned. Also, I know that in the previous chapters, I have some misspelled words and grammer mistakes. I'll take care of those before the next chapter is up. I'll try to update sooner, but until then review and tell me what you think.


	5. No Time Like The Present

Disclaimer: Don't own the awesome, jaw-dropping, heart-pumping, blood-gushing, head-pounding, bone-breaking, life-stopping, cause-of-yelling-for-no-apparent-reasoning, head-exploding, ninja-star-in-eye-like-Butters-in-South-Park-for-no-apparent-reasoning, nut-cracking, show: Bleach. (The last part was inappropriate, and if I offended anybody, I'm sorta sorry...Oh loosen up!)

Thanks for those that reviewed! Before we get to the story, I was asked a question by Hayden101.

Hayden101- I really hope that Ichigo doesn't lose his powers in the next few manga chapters, that will be extremely sad. Don't you agree?

SoulsLastResort's Response- Damn right! He loses his powers and Yoruichi would be the dominate one out of the two. She can torture him with her body, and when Ichigo can't stop himself and jumps out to touch her, she'll just use flash-step and circle around him and kick him in the nuts! With Ichigo losing his powers, the show would be over, and that's a entertainment kick in the nuts to me! (This is a T-rated fic, so you should expect this kind of talk and response to questions in this story and to questions that would suck. Probably not for good things, like Ichigo and Yoruichi kissing in the final episode or manga, if it's close, but for things that would suck. I just had a few cokes and it's 12:45 in the morning when I started with this chapter, so I'll be here all night.)

I was also asked how I was going to write IchigoxYoruichi by hitsugayatoshirou1220.  
Answer:That's the fun things about stories. They can be like riddles. You think the answer is nothing or just complex, just for it to be simple and right in front of your face. Don't worry, I'll find a way.

All right, I got some sort of control over myself though I just popped another soda (Mountain Dew, love it more than Coke), which would be my 4th can, so I'll get back to the chapter. The beginning may seem a little off and seem to miss a few things that relate to earlier chapters, but just read and it'll unravel inself, just like a riddle. On with the fic, enjoy.

* * *

_'Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.'_

Ichigo awoke, slowly. Actually, he woke up about 10 minutes ago, but kept his eyelids shut. He would've slept longer but the rhythmical thuds on the door forced him up. With a groan, he lifted his upper body with the sheets falling down to his hips and his legs still under them. Rubbing his eyes to wake him up more quickly, Ichigo studied his room, again. It looked unfamiliar to him at the time, but a light bulb lit up as Ichigo remembered where he was and how he got there.

_'Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.'_

'Jeez that's going to be annoying.', Ichigo thought to himself.

'Maybe you should just yell at her to make her stop.', Hichigo said when Ichigo finished. He too, sounded like he just got up.

'Nah, I'll just stick her with paperwork.', Ichigo said.

'I doooonnnn't caaarrre.', Hichigo dragged out with his yawn.

'Well, your up. Might as well just start the day now to get it over with faster.', old man Zangetsu added. Ichigo didn't respond right away since he yawned also.

'Yeah, I suppose.' Ichigo got up and, before getting up, stretched his arms and back. He cracked his fists, neck, and back while stretching. Ichigo was in a room with a bed in the middle. The bed wasn't some cheap set, this was something that Ichigo was still taken aback from. It had a combination of wood and metal with some fancy carvings in the wood, while the metal was sleek and clean. Besides the bed, the room wasn't really something to brag about. Just a plain room with a fancy bed. Ichigo got off the bed and headed to the bathroom down the hall. After brushing his teeth, Ichigo went back to the bedroom to get dressed. On the way there, Ichigo started a conversation with Hichigo and Zangetsu.

'She is so persistent. It's a weekend for cryin' out loud! Shouldn't I be allowed to sleep in a little?'

'Shut up. You picked her as your lieutenant. If you should be blaming anyone, it should be you.', Hichigo responded.

'Oh, come on! It's (looking back at the clock) 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday. I should be able to sleep late.', Ichigo retaliated.

'You do have a point, Ichigo. But, your the one that accepted the job so start pulling your weight.', Zangetsu said. Hichigo can be heard giving 'ooohhhs' and just laughing like a drunken idiot while Ichigo was stunned for a moment. Usually, when Ichigo had nothing to do and no one to talk to, he would start a conversation with the two souls inside his head. When he does this though, Hichigo would be the only one to actually 'talk', and Zangetsu would just stand there in some odd wind letting them argue over something frivolous. He rarely puts any input in a conversation, so you can understand that when he spoke he surprised the other two. Ironically, when Zangetsu spoke, he said something in a serious tone, but the statement was a joke with a lesson behind it, and he was good. After regaining his composure, Ichigo responded.

'The first time you say anything in a conversation and that's all? And why are you taking his side?'

'Because he knows that I can kick you ass anytime I wanted to.', Hichigo muttered.

'What was that?', Ichigo said in a dangerous tone.

'Hey dimwit, are you even paying attention to your surroundings? You've been inside of your room for 5 minutes doing nothing, and if you don't get out there soon, than she'll kick the door down, again!', Hichigo raised his arms at 'again', to emphasize his point.

Realizing he was right, Ichigo ended the conversation and focused on getting dressed. He went to his closet and got his usual soul reaper attire, then went to the other side of the room to where it looked like a shrine. On the wall, hung his Captain's Haori with the number 14 on the back. At the sight of the Captain's Haori, Ichigo had a little flash-back, starting from the events after he pass out.

* * *

Ichigo woke up slowly. His entire body ached and fatigued. He didn't know where he was, and had trouble recalling anything. Open his eyes a little more, Ichigo noticed two people beside him. Above them, there was a golden semicircle. Ichigo looked over to his right and saw Unohana looking a little tired herself. Then he shifted his gaze lazily over to his other side and saw her lieutenant, Isane. She was in no better condition than Unohana, but when Ichigo looked at both of them, he can see the joy and relief in their eyes and the gentle smile that graced both of their lips. Ichigo focused back on why his body was so sore. When he did, he noticed that his body felt a little better, and he could almost literally feel the energy and strength flow back into him. He started to test out his limbs, moving his toes and fingers. They all worked but when he moved them, a flash of pain would course through him. That means that he was injured. But that only led to another question. 'What happened to me?'

'Calm down. Just breath and focus on the past events.', old man Zangetsu told him. Ichigo listened to him and took a few deep breaths. He closed his eyes and for a moment nothing happened, then, it all came flooding into him. Once that was said and done, Ichigo's heart started to pound as he jumped to his feet, shocking everyone. He would've stood up-right, but he forgot about the shield over him and hit his head on it. Either Orihime lost her concentration and broke it off herself, or Ichigo just hit his head with some force for the shield broke. Ichigo fell on his knees while holding his head. Ichigo was too busy holding his head to notice that somebody snickered setting off everyone else into a full-hearted uproar. When Ichigo heard the laughter, he stopped rubbing his head and looked around him. He saw everybody that he knew and wondered why they were laughing.

"Ichigo you idiot!", Rukia came around and slapped him upside the head, much to the discomfort of Ichigo due to his now splitting headache.

"Ow, damn it Rukia. What the hell wa-", before he could finish, he was interrupted by Renji

"How the hell did you do that?", he pointed to some spot on the mountain. At the spot, there was the crater that he and Aizen created when they fought against each other. But in the middle of the crater, was a large gash. So large in fact that it just about split the entire mountain in two! It didn't just stop at the mountain either, it kept going for miles. Ichigo couldn't even see the end of it. He just had a wide-eyed look on his face.

"I did that?"

"Yeah. Who else could do something like that?", Renji said with a smile.

"Ichigooooooo!", a voice yelled. Out of instinct, Ichigo side-stepped and held out his fist. Running into that fist came the goofy father, Isshin.

"Jeez dad, where the hell were you the whole time?", Ichigo yelled at him. That's when he notice the battle wounds all over him. He was ran through in multiple places and cut here and there. "Dad?" Isshin answered with an uppercut to the chin, making Ichigo do a back-flip.

"Keep your guard up at all times. You never know what might happen if you let it sl-", he was silenced by Ichigo punching him in the gut sending him to the trees across the hill.

"Considering how many times he's been run through, you would think that he would be unconscious, not kicking my ass!", Ichigo stated while cracking his knuckles and walking over to where Isshin was. He was about to jump over the huge rift in the mountain to get to the other side to kick Isshin's ass some more when he heard a familiar voice. It sounded like his father, but since he was on the other side, it could only be one person.

"Ichigo!", Keigo screamed while running to him. Ichigo just sighed, turned, and raised his foot, which Keigo ran into. "Why did you do that?", he asked while holding his now bleeding nose.

"Because if I would've side-stepped, you would've fell off the edge and plummet to your death. Would you rather die or have a broken nose?", Ichigo responded.

"Ok, you have a point."

"Ichigo." Ichigo heard his name again, and this time, a chill went down his spine; he wasn't looking forward to this one. He already knew what the person that called his name wanted and he was to weak and tired to do it. It was Kenpachi. By the time Ichigo turned around, Kenpachi was charging him, "Fight me, now!"

"I can't I don't have Zangetsu with-", Ichigo stopped right there. He just now realized that Zangetsu wasn't anywhere on him. Two things went through his head at this point in time, 1: Where did he go?, and 2: Ahh, I'm going to die! Ichigo waited for Kenpachi to get close to him and when he was close enough, he jumped out of the way. This action caused Kenpachi to miss and fall over the edge. 'It's going to be a while before I see him again.' With Kenpachi out of the way, Ichigo focused on his current problem, finding where Zangetsu was. He knew that people were asking him questions, but he wasn't paying attention. Not seeing him anywhere, Ichigo decided to ask Zangetsu himself.

'Hey old man Zangetsu, where are you?'

'I'm being held by someone, but I can't verify who it is.', Zangetsu replied.

'Well, can you tell me the general area your in? Better yet, can you just release some of you energy to me for me to track you?'

'I'll do the latter, since that'll be easiest. Sense for me.' Ichigo did what he said and looked for him. He effectively blocked out the others questions and comments and focused on trying to find Zangetsu. Though he probably didn't realize it, they all stopped talking once they realized that he wasn't paying attention. While looking, Ichigo finally found Zangetsu's presence and hurried to his direction. When he found the source of the energy, he found Zangetsu in the hands of none other than Yoruichi. She had Zangetsu propped on her shoulder like it was her's.

"I guess you looking for this?", Yoruichi asked with a gentle smile.

"Yeah." He reached over and Yoruichi lowered it from her shoulder and gave it to him.

"You know, your zampakutou is heavier than it looks.", Yoruichi said while rotating her shoulder in a circular motion while rubbing it.

"Sorry for that, and thanks for holding it for me."

"Don't mention it. Isn't that what friends are for?"

"Well, that's what they're suppose to be for. Not annoy the hell out of everyday at school.", Ichigo said with a point at Keigo, who just burst into comical tears. He was shouting something, but Ichigo didn't hear it, for he and Yoruichi started to walk to the group of Captains and Lieutenants, Vizards, and Urahara and his gang. The rest of the crowd followed as well. (Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Nell, ect.) When they got there, Yoruichi asked the question that everybody was thinking. "How did you transform and do that powerful attack?"

"Ha, well I'll be glad to answer all of your questions later. For now, I just want to sleep.", and with that, he passed out yet again.

* * *

His train of memories were halted by another round of knocks. He gave himself a quick shake of his head and quickly put the Haori over his soul reaper attire. He ran to the front door, but never made it as the door came flying at him. 'Not again.', he thought with dread. The door hit him and made him fly back to the back wall. Whoever kicked the door kicked with force for the impact of his back hitting the wall caused the wall to crack and even break as Ichigo fell out in the grass. Removing the door off of his body, Ichigo yelled out of frustration, "Damn it Nell! I was about to come out. Didn't I tell you _not_ to kick the door in?"

"Sorry, Ichigo. I thought something bad happened.", Nell responded with a bright and gentle smile.

"Yeah, like the last time. And the time before that, and before that!" Ichigo heard some giggling outside where Nell was standing an it didn't look like Nell was laughing so it had to be one other person. "Rangiku, why didn't you stop her?"

"Sorry, I thought you were in trouble too.", she said with a innocent tone.

"That might work on Toshiro, but not on me."

"Oh, whatever. So are we going to the meeting or not?"

"You actually _want_ to go to a _meeting, _an event without Sake, and your not drunk?", Ichigo said in mock surprise.

"Come on you two, stop flirting. The meeting is 15 minutes from now.", Nell said before Rangiku had a chance to answer Ichigo's question. Nell was in her adult form and in a Soul Reaper attire. Her long, green hair flowed down smoothly like a nice, gentle stream. Her zampakutou was sheathed on her hip. Everything about Nell was no different than any other soul reaper. The only thing different about her would be the hollow mask on the top of her head, but other than that, you would think she was a real soul reaper. When Nell stood next to Rangiku to stop the argument, if she dyed her hair orange and somehow got rid of the mask, than she would look like a twin to Rangiku. She had the face and easily passed the breast size. Hell, they were always together anyway, they probably were sisters.

Ichigo got up and dusted himself off. "Nell's right. Let's go."

"What about the door?", Rangiku asked.

"Leave it. Nell's going to fix it since she broke it.", Nell just put a hand behind her head and smiled.

"Aw, did you hear that Nell? You're gonna have to fix it.", Rangiku stated needlessly.

"Why are you acting innocent? Your helping her.", Ichigo said sternly.

"What! Why?", Rangiku asked in a child-like tone.

"Because you didn't stop her when you knew I was coming! I bet Toshiro wouldn't mind.", Ichigo smirked at the last statement.

"Guys, 10 minutes.", Nell informed them, interrupting Rangiku again.

"That's final. Now come on, I don't want the Head-Captain to chew you two out.", Ichigo said with a gentler voice. Letting out a sigh, Rangiku nodded, as well as Nell. Then, they flash-stepped to the Seireitei. While on there way there, Ichigo continued his thought process he was on earlier.

* * *

Ichigo woke up again, but with more energy and without people around him. This time, he was in what looked like a hospital bed. Not knowing what happened, Ichigo asked the two in his head.

'Zangetsu, Hichigo, what happened?'

'The pathetic Ichigo Kurosaki passed out right before the entire 13 Court Guard Squads, that's what happened.', Hichigo said.

'They transported you to Squad 4's barracks to recover.', Zangetsu added.

'How long have I been out?', Ichigo wondered.

'About two days.', Hichigo answered. 'If you got anymore questions, why don't you ask the people around you.'

'There isn't an-', right before Ichigo finished, the door slid open and in came Rukia, Renji, Chad, Orihime, Uryu, Nell, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Toshiro, Rangiku, Urahara, and Yoruichi. They all gathered around Ichigo and immediately started firing questions. Ichigo didn't hear any of it though, because he was looking at Nell. Out of all his friends currently present, she was a little ways away from the group. What caught his attention, however, was her expression. She looked happy, but sad and distant at the same time.

"Nell,", Ichigo said over everybody else, halting their barrage of questions. At the sound of her name, Nell look up. "what's wrong?" Ichigo could tell that she put on a fake smile.

"Nothing. I'm just happy that your ok.", Nell said. Ichigo might've imagined it, but it sounded like her voice broke at the last second.

"Nell, you're my friend and I had to carry you all over Hueco Mundo. Your not telling the truth. And I know you're not because if I can tell, then it really is obvious.", Ichigo stated. Silently, everyone nodded in agreement. When it came to the minor details, Ichigo was the last person to go see.

"You don't have to worry, it's fine. Just get your rest and then we can play eternal tag again."

Now Ichigo knew something was wrong. It wasn't the awkward statement, it was the way she said the statement. Ichigo spent enough time with Nell to know that whenever 'eternal tag' was brought up, she lit up like a Christmas tree and got excited really quick. But she said it so solemnly that it set off every alarm in Ichigo's head. He was about to ask again when the Head-Captain walked in the room; he was followed by the other captains as well.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, it's good to see that you've healed from your most recent ordeal. Are you able to move freely and without restraint?", he said in his rough voice. Ichigo moved around a bit to see if he could and found that he did. He even got out of the sheets and stood up.

"I guess so, though I'm a little sore in some places.", Ichigo answered while stretching and rubbing his shoulders.

"That's good. If you can, can you report to the main courtyard in the Seireitei?"

"Don't see why not. When?"

"Seeing that you just awoke, it will be scheduled 3 hours from now." Looking at the clock, Ichigo saw that this meeting will be at 1:00 o'clock.

"Yeah, I can be there.", Ichigo said.

"Good. Then we'll leave you to recover your energy." Ichigo noticed that when Yamamoto turned around to leave, Nell sorta looked away.

'Likes she's afraid of him', Hichigo told Ichigo who agreed.

"Wonder what this meeting's about?", Ichigo wondered out loud.

Urahara answered, "It's probably to see this new form of yours. What you did is something that nobody had ever seen. It's understandable that their curious."

"Put a sock in it Kisuke. Don't act like you're not curious?", Rukia shouted. Urahara just scratched the back of his head while smiling weakly.

"Ok, so I'm a little curious too. Who wouldn't be?", he said.

"But Ichigo, how did you perform that transformation? A word of advice, if you don't tell me so I can tell the others, then Captain Kurotshuchi's going to disect you.", at that, Ichigo went blue in the face.

Ichigo grabbed his top and pulled him in the air, shaking him like a rag doll, "Don't you even joke about that! I'm not letting that freak anywhere near me!" Toshiro hit Ichigo on the side of his face, which made Ichigo stop shaking him.

"Will you STOP!", Toshiro shouted. Everybody in the room laughed like crazy. Especially Rangiku since she could never do that to him without a severe punishment later. Ichigo noticed what he was doing to Toshiro and quickly let him down. Ichigo took a moment, but started laughing just as hard while Toshiro crossed his arms and looked away with an agitated look on his face. Though, he couldn't hide the little smile at the corner of his lips. The door opened again, and this time, it was Isshin with Karin and Yuzu.

"Ichigo!", Karin and Yuzu said at the same time. Isshin uncharacteristically stayed behind and watched the events unfold. Karin and Yuzu tackled Ichigo down to the ground.

"Big Brother! We were so worry about you!", Yuzu said. Judging by the tone in her voice, she was already crying.  
"Ha, speak for yourself. Ichigo's to stupid to die.", Karin responded, though she was probably crying as well.

Everyone just looked at the touching scene with honest smiles. Too bad Renji had to take it all away with his next comment, "You got that right, he is stupid." He was only answered with a punch in the gut by Ichigo while his sisters hung to him by the hips. The back of Ichigo's neck started to tingle as, out of reflex, leaned back a little and grabbed Isshin's foot.

"Even in the soul society, you still have to attack me when I just get up.", Ichigo shouted while swinging Isshin by the foot. He slammed him down on the ground, but he probably overdid it when the floor cracked and Isshin went through it. There were a lot of sounds that led people to think that the wood and concrete crumbled along with Isshin. Once the noise stopped, Ichigo and the rest looked down the hole. Ichigo noticed about 6 platforms that were once the floor. Then he noticed Isshin's limbs twitching while he lied semi-conscious. "Ah, what floor are we on guys?", Ichigo asked dumbly. The others just looked at him like he was mad.

"We're on the seventh floor. Congratulations Ichigo, you literally threw you father down seven floors of a building.", Urahara said.

"Yeah? Well serves him right for trying to attack his only injured son.", Ichigo replied. After a while, and an ear-full of complaints, criticism, and lectures from the entire hospital staff, Ichigo got back on his bed while the others just pulled some chairs over. There was even a sofa there. "Where did you guys get a sofa?"

"Ikkaku and I went to go get them. Since everybody in the staff had their attention on you, it was easy for us to sneak it in.", Chad answered. He was in a chair, while Ikkaku, Rangiku, and Yumichika (in that order going from left to right) sat in the sofa. On the other sofa, sat Orihime, Uryu, and Urahara (also in that order). Toshiro leaned on a wall on Ichigo's right, while Karin, Yuzu, Nell, and Yoruichi sat in chairs. Rukia and Renji sat next to each other on the bed beside Ichgo's, and Isshin was in another room being treated for severe injuries. Ichigo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Alright, though I don't want to, I'll answer any questions that you guys have about the transformation thing.", Ichigo said. Rukia was the first to ask a question.

"What happened after the espada that Aizen created shot their grand ray ceros? You had a big hole in your chest, yet you still got up and transformed." Ichigo closed his eyes as he tried to recall the event. (This will be a flashback in a flashback. We won't see Ichigo actually answer, but the flashback will answer any questions. If you still have questions, drop a review and ask.)

* * *

Ichigo was fighting the mock espada that Aizen made. A green spear just missed him and Ichigo moved away. He wasn't fast enough for Ulquiorra noticed him and charged at him with a claw outstretched. He was about to raise his zampakutou to block the hand, but Ulquiorra just stopped. Not just him, but everybody and everything. Before Ichigo could wonder what happened, Tensa Zangetsu appeared.

"Who are you?", Ichigo asked.

"I'm Zangetsu, but let's leave the details for later. Right now, your in my territory, and that's why the world around you is like this.", Tensa Zangetsu answered.

"It kind of reminds me of what happened when I first fought Kenpachi.", Ichigo pointed out.

"That's exactly what it is. Ichigo, go to your inner world. Don't ask why, just do it." Ichigo was about to retaliate, but Tensa Zangetsu shut him up with the last part of the statement. Ichigo did what he was told and went to his inner world. It looked like his everyday world, tall buildings and all. Out of air, Tensa Zangetsu just sorta faded in.

"Ok, I'm here. What is this about?", Ichigo asked Tensa Zangetsu.

"You!", a hollowfied voice yelled. Ichigo knew that voice from anywhere and felt a shiver go up and down his spine. He turned around and sure enough, there was the hollow standing there looking Ichigo in the eyes. He was in a form that Ichigo only seen once, though a little different. He was in his bankai form, but with a fur-like material at the ends of the sleeves of the top. Also, his snow-white hair was all the way down to his lower back. Ichigo automatically tighten his grip on Tensa Zangetsu.

"Why are you here? You should be dead.", Ichigo said while glaring at him. Something about the hollow caught Ichigo off guard however. Usually, the hollow had a ear-to-ear smirk on his face, but that wasn't the case for it wasn't there. Instead, he just glared back at Ichigo with a serious look on his face and eyes.

"He is here because he is a part of you. As a matter of fact, he's a part of you just as much as I am. But, that's not why you were asked to be here. Before I can elaborate this anymore, he has some business with you.", Tensa Zangetsu said.

"Business? Since when did you know about democracy? You're a hollow, all you do is kill and when that's done, you just do it again. For all I know, you just want another fight to see if you can overpower me and gain control of my body. Why would I want anything to do with you?", Ichigo said viciously. The hollow again surprised Ichigo when his face went from serious to a mixture of anger and...sadness?

"Arrrrhhhh, you just don't get it!", the hollow shouted at him while charging out of anger. Ichigo expected as much from the hollow as he brought Tensa Zangetsu up to parry the hollow's version. While they were locked in a battle of strength, the hollow continued.

"Since when have I ever done anything to harm you or your comrades, friends, and family? To you!", the hollow yelled in Ichigo's face.

"Sorry, but I don't have enough fingers and toes to count them all!", Ichigo said with a strong push. The push sent the hollow back a ways, but he just came right back, initiating another battle of strength.

"No wonder you never saw the truth, you're biased and hard-headed!"

"What is it with you? What truth? That you were going to devour me and claim my body to do whatever the hell you want? I don't think so!", Ichigo replied while again pushing hard. This time he followed up with a Getsuga Tensho. It hit the hollow, but the hollow just waved it off and look unharmed. The hollow started to charge again and started swinging in wide arcs, though none of them hit their mark. Now Ichigo was getting suspicious. He fought against him before and knew first-hand that if the hollow wanted to actually inflict damage on him, he would. But, he looked like he wasn't really into it, like he wasn't trying as hard as he could. The hollow started saying something in-between the swings.

"Think Ichigo. How many times have I saved you in your life? The question threw Ichigo off for a moment. Ichigo prepared himself for pain as he knew that a moment was all the hollow needed to inflict a serious blow. But, the pain never came. Baffled, Ichigo focused his eyes and saw the hollow's Tensa Zangetsu about to come down on him. 'Why did he hesitate? He had a clear opening.' Shaking his mind off the thought, Ichigo dodged the attack and, while sliding across the ground, decided to think about the times when he actually need the hollow's help. Before he could answer, the hollow continued.

"Still can't figure it out? 6. Six times since you became a soul reaper I saved your ass from death. All six of thoughs times, I could've forced you down and gained complete dominance over your body. I could've run off with your body. But instead, I didn't force you down, and I even fought and weaken all of your opponents that damn near killed you."

"What do you mean you didn't force me down? Every time you took over, I had to forcibly take control back! And of course you didn't run off, you had a strong opponent ready to fight you! As for the amount of times you 'saved' me, tell them to me. There's no way I was defeated that many times." Ichigo said back. Though, he didn't say it, he had to agree with one of his statements. The hollow did fight only the person he was fighting.

"Kenpachi, Byakuya, the bount with that doll, Kariya, Muramasa, and Ulquiorra. And did you once thanked me for it? No! And when you took back control, I didn't hold you with my all. Come on, you fought against me while perfectly fine, and I still almost killed you. What makes you think that you can overpower me when you're half dead?", he responded.

"Muramasa and Ulquiorra I'll admit to. Byakuya, Kariya, and the bount you just interfered with. And with Kenpachi, you didn't help at all.", Ichigo said, though now, he started questioning himself.

"Why are you so hard-headed! Byakuya was about to kill you when you stormed the Soul Society. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be here. Same thing with Kariya. He was about to cut you in half, and you couldn't move. I made you move. The bount with the doll, you were caught in some sort of net and couldn't get off. With Kenpachi, if I didn't materialize my mask to absorb most of the blow, you would be dead right now. Know what, make that seven. I did the same thing with Renji when you fought against him. Face it, their isn't one strong person that you defeated without my help.", the hollow listed off. Though Ichigo was trying to focus on the hollow's wild swings, he was getting to caught up in the facts that he was to stubborn to admit and ask about. Ichigo always wondered why he just fought his opponents instead of going on a wild rampage. The people that the hollow listed off Ichigo just wrote off thinking that they were just unfortunate to be around when the hollow took control. But the way the hollow put it, it sounded like it was his intentions to help Ichigo the entire time. But why would he do that? He was just another hollow wanting control and killing innocent people, right? He wouldn't help the only obstacle standing in his way to that. After a moment, Ichigo tried something else.

"What about when you threaten to devour me and kill all the people I hold dear? Can you come up with a reasonable explanation for that?", Ichigo said. At this, he strengthen his resolve for he knew the hollow couldn't say anything opposing the matter. But, yet again, the hollow surprised Ichigo, stopping his barrage of attacks. After a moment, the hollow answered.

"It was never my intention to take over. I just used that as motivation for you to get stronger. Needless to say, it worked. You were trying to find a way to get stronger so you can get rid of me and go back to a normal life. But, in a way, it backfired. The only thing you found in your search to get stronger was the Vizards that think they know everything! They were just as biased as you, thinking that a hollow is nothing more than just instincts. Though this is true, it isn't just killing instinct, but survival instinct and self-satisfaction. I wanted the same thing Zangetsu wanted, you getting stronger. I just did it differently and your biased, one-track mind couldn't tell. I want you to think back. Remember when you and I first met? What was the second thing I said to you?", the hollow said all of this with a dead tone. The only sentence that had any emotion behind it was when he mentioned the Vizards. Ichigo could've been slapped and he wouldn't even notice it as he was greatly confused with the hollow's behavior and his own knowledge about hollows in general. He was processing this slowly, but he started to get it. So, he thought back to when they first met.

"Well, I don't remember the specifics but you were commenting on how great of a sword Zangetsu was." The hollow flash-stepped and hit Ichigo on the head. Ichigo was about to retaliate, but stopped because it felt distinctly familiar. He realize that it wasn't an act of violence, more of something Rukia would do when she was pissed off at him for some reason. He looked up and saw the hollow take a few steps back while resting his white Tensa Zangetsu on his shoulder. "No you idiot, right before that."

"And just what conversation are you thinking about? That was the second thing you said to me.", Ichigo said while rubbing his head. The hollow visibly got angry with Ichigo's stupidity.

"No damn it! The first thing I said to you was to get out of my way. What did I say after that?", he made a fist and Ichigo knew that if he didn't get it right this time, the hollow was going to use it. Then, it clicked.

"I asked who you were and you said, 'Come on, you know me, partner.' What's so special about that?", Ichigo asked.

"I called you 'partner'! Hell, before you even knew I existed, I was able to call you partner, but you just shut me out!", the hollow flash-stepped over and swung down. Ichigo instinctively raised Tensa Zangetsu to block the blow. "Do you have any idea how that feels? Of course you don't! You never made a friend that turned his back on you without even trying to know you in the first place, and that's why I hated you for a time." Ichigo could feel the anger radiate from the hollow. But he felt something else, betrayal. 'He said friend. Does that mean that he considered me an ally?', Ichigo thought. Ichigo had an idea, though it was going to hurt. When the hollow made another swing, Ichigo didn't move and instead, took it. The blade hit Ichigo on the side of the shoulder. The hollow just looked puzzled. He pulled his blade out of Ichigo and jumped back.

"Did you finally lose your mind? Who takes an attack on purpose?", the hollow said.

"Why aren't you trying? You could've just killed me right there and then. So, why didn't you?", Ichigo said while holding his shoulder.

"You still haven't figured it out? I don't want to kill you. Not you, or your friends and family. All I want, all I ever wanted, was for you and I to become like a tag-team of some sorts. But you have some big stick up your ass that doesn't want you to.", the hollow said. Ichigo just let out a quick laugh.

"After all this time. You know, you have a stupid way of asking people things.", Ichigo said with a smirk.

"Shut up. You have a stupid way of judging people.", the hollow responded. For the first time, his wide smirk formed on his face.

"From what it looks like, you two have dealt with the business. Now, Ichigo, we need to talk.", Tensa Zangetsu spoke. For the entire time that the hollow and Ichigo had been dealing with the 'business', Tensa Zangetsu just remained quiet.

"Alright. But what about the espada and Aizen? Surely you can't keep that thing up the whole time.", Ichigo said, still holding his shoulder. He felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned, it was the hollow.

"Let me take care of them while you and Zangetsu talk.", the hollow said while smirking. Ichigo could see the excitement in his eyes and it reminded him of a child in a candy shop. He couldn't help but smirk back.

"As long as nobody but the espada and Aizen get hurt, have a ball. First, I have to release my hold on my spiritual energy so give me a minute. Zangetsu, release that thing you got in the real world. I'll be back in a minute.", Ichigo told Tensa Zangetsu who just nodded his head. Ichigo started to fade away and found himself and everything the same before he went to his inner world. Then, color started to fill the black and white area. The figures started to move again, then faster. He blocked Ulquiorra's attack and made a fast flash-step. Then, he gathered spiritual energy around Tensa Zangetsu and released his hold on it, letting the hollow take over. The hollow immediately took control. He heard the hollow's statement and smiled. He went back to Tensa Zangetsu and they started to talk.

"Ichigo, what we are about to talk about is extremely important, listen.", Tensa Zangetsu started off with.

"What are we even talking about?", Ichigo asked.

"Jinzen Getsuga Tensho.", was the only answer. Ichigo thought about this for a moment.

"I guessing this has something to do with the Getsuga Tensho.", Ichigo said. All he got for confirmation was a nod. "Alright, what's this Jinzen Getsuga Tensho?"

"Also called the Final Getsuga Tensho, it's the most powerful attack and form in your arsenal. This is the only way to defeat Sosuke Aizen.", Tensa Zangetsu stated.

"Really? Well, how do I get that power?", Ichigo asked, fascinated.

"Follow me.", was all Tensa Zangetsu said. He turned around and started running off to the edge of the building. Ichigo did what he was told and ran after him. When Tensa Zangetsu reached the edge, he just jumped off the side and nosedived down in the space in-between the building he was just on and the one next to it. Ichigo hesitated, having always thought that something bad would happen if he were to jump in the space. He had to make a decision quick, and he did. He jumped off the edge and nosedived to catch up with Tensa Zangetsu. He thought that wind would fill his ears, preventing him from hearing anything the zampakutou had to say. But that wasn't the case as he could hear just fine. Tensa Zangetsu asked him a question.

"Ichigo, have you ever wondered what made the gap in-between the buildings glow?"

"Huh? No, not really. I just thought that if you fell down here, you die or something.", Ichigo answered.

"Do you remember when you had to save Rukia Kuchiki, you destroyed the platform?", Tensa Zangetsu continued.

"Yeah."

"Did you know you eyes shifted colors? Your eyes are normally brown, but at the time, they were glazed over with a pure blue hue."

"Yeah, I think Rukia said something about it. I didn't really think that much of it though. What does it have to do with the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho?"

"That was your resolve. When your resolve is unbreakable, the blue hue over your eyes becomes visible. The stronger your resolve, the more visible and radiant the glow. Your resolve is the key to the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho. It is also what makes the gap in-between the buildings and the sky more brilliant with the color blue. The reason why we dived down here is to go to the core of your soul and find your resolve. Once we reach this, you must strengthen your resolve to the point where nothing will shake it, not even death. Once this is accomplished, you will be able to access the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho.", Tensa Zangetsu explained. After a few moments of silence, Tensa Zangetsu broke it, "We're here."

Ichigo looked around and ended in a room the size of Karakura Town with a large sphere of pure, blue spiritual energy. It glowed brightly, blinding so. In the middle of the massive ball of spiritual energy, a white, smaller sphere resided in the middle of it. Ichigo and Tensa Zangetsu landed on some invisible surface and was able to stand up and cease falling. Tensa Zangetsu started to flash-step over to the sphere and Ichigo followed him. When they got to the outer shell of it, Tensa Zangetsu stopped and looked towards Ichigo.

"This is your hidden energy. Your resolve. If you want to access the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho, you must enter your energy and find a way to strengthen your resolve. Once that is complete, bottle up your spiritual energy and pressure within yourself and then let it all out at once. Only then will you be able to reach your full power.", Tensa Zangetsu said. Ichigo just nodded and was about to walk in when he saw an image pop in his head. Some sort of monstrous explosion and a tremendous amount of energy was let off all at once. Moments later, the hollow materialized next to him and Tensa Zangetsu.

"Did you explain what he had to do?", he asked Tensa Zangetsu. Tensa Zangetsu nodded. Looking back at Ichigo, the hollow added, "Well, what are you doing? You need to do this now or you'll die."

"What!"

"I'll explain it to you later. Get in there already.", the hollow said with a push.

"Damn it, stop Hichigo!", Ichigo yelled. But the hollow had already gave a strong push and Ichigo was in.

"What kind of stupid name is that?", the hollow asked.

"Yours. I'm not going to keep calling you 'hollow' the entire time.", and with that, Ichigo started to walk away in the middle of the sphere. Ichigo immediately felt a strong force pushing him back. What was weird about it though, was the fact that it sucked away his will to even try.

'Why don't I want to go on? I have to reach that power! If I don't, I won't win. Aizen will get his way and everybody will die. Everyone will die...NO! I won't let that happen again! I won't bare the burden of failing to protect everyone I care about and having to suffer not only the failure of protection, but the misery of everyone involved. Once was enough. I will reach that power, I will beat Aizen, and I will win!', Ichigo thought with a new found will. The force seemed to disappear as Ichigo forced his way to the middle. When he got there, he tried to gather his energy and pressure and bottle it up. It was a struggle at first, but with his new found motivation, it was easier than he thought. Then, the moment of truth. Ichigo let loose all of the pressure and power he had bottled up inside, causing the sphere to practically explode with the energy. It got bigger and bigger and bigger still, as the edges touched the walls that surrounded it. Once that happened, the energy escaped out into the rest of Ichigo's inner world and Ichigo was thrown back into control. (This is the end of the flashback within the flashback. It's also the end of the current flashback as well as well go back to Ichigo's room in the hospital.)

* * *

"And that's all I remember besides the fight before I blacked out.", Ichigo finished. He left certain parts out such as the whole 'business' thing with Hichigo. Besides that, everything else was in his explanation. Everyone look on with a mesmerized look in their eyes as they heard Ichigo's explanation. "That reminds me, what happened after I blacked out?", Ichigo asked. For a moment, no one said anything. Then, Yoruichi spoke.

"Well, after you performed that new technique, Jinzen Getsuga Tensho, we all rushed over to your collapsed body. When we got there, your spiritual energy was evaporating off of you. You went from that form to your bankai with your mask on, then the mask broke, then your bankai lifted and you were in your normal form. The only thing about you was the fact that your entire body was covered in scars, cuts, gashes, and some of your bones were broken. Captain Unohana, her lieutenant Isane, and Orihime all tried to heal you as fast as they can to prevent any of the injuries to be permanent, while all of the other captains left to locate the remains of Aizen. Only Toshiro and Byakuya stayed behind to look over the healing process and make sure that nothing happens to you or the others. While looking for Aizen's remains, the only thing that was found was Aizen's zampakutou and the Hougyoku broken in half. Captain Kurotshuchi went back to the Research and Development Center to locate Aizen's spiritual presence, but came up empty. The last sign of his spiritual energy was right after the Getsuga Tensho pushed into Aizen. The only thing that we can conjure up with the data and the evidence was that Aizen was completely obliterated when he was struck. We all flash-stepped back to Sokyoku Hill and shortly after, you awoke.", Yoruichi finished her long explanation. She looked Ichigo in the eyes for a moment as Ichigo did the same. She tried to look away, but found herself unable to. Thankfully, Ikkaku started talking, interrupting Ichigo and Yoruichi's staring contest.

"I got to admit, I don't think I could've stayed conscious after the hit to your head when you jumped up.", he said jokily. Some snickered as they remembered the event. After a moment to get the giggles out of their systems, Uryu pushed up his glasses as he asked a question.

"What I want to know, is who were to two people that you materialized when you changed forms? When we got to your unconscious body, the other two were still there. One looked like a teenager and the other, well, I don't know how to explain him. He kind of looked like you with white skin and hair. But before we could get there to examine him any closer, he disappeared. Care to explain?" At that, everyone immediately looked back at Ichigo with growing interest. Ichigo honestly didn't know how to answer that one. He was sure that he could tell that the teenager was actually the way Zangetsu looked like when he was in bankai, but what about the hollow? How would they react if he said that the white twin of himself was actually his inner hollow that, what they thought, wanted no more than to take over Ichigo's body and kill everyone near. He decided to start with Tensa Zangetsu, hoping to give himself some time to think of something to say about Hichigo.

"Well, the teenager is actually Zangetsu. I didn't think he was Zangetsu either until he said he was and, in a way, sounded like him. As it turns out, when I change into my bankai, he also changes into the teen version of himself. I don't know either, but that's what happens.", Ichigo finished. Now, Hichigo. What can he say about him? Maybe he could just say that he's another zampakutou like Zangetsu. It would make sense. He was about to start his explanation when Toshiro interrupted.

"Hey Ichigo, can you move around much?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

"It's 1:30, but I want to see if you're still having difficulties in any areas.", Toshiro answered.

"Like what?"

"Let's find out."

* * *

_SMACK!_

Ichigo was slapped in the face on both sides. That _really _got him out of his daydreams. Rubbing both sides of his face, Ichigo looked back at Nell and Rangiku.

"What the hell was that for!", he yelled at both.

"For you to wake up. We're here.", Rangiku said while pointing a thumb at the entrance of the meeting room. "(Taking and exhaling a breath), let's get this dumb meeting over with already.", Rangiku said glumly.

"Aw, perk up Rangiku. Tell you what, you make it through this meeting, and I'll take you for a round of Soke.", Ichigo said while smiling. At the word 'Soke', Rangiku made a full 180 and practically ran down the hall to the doors. "Come on you slow pokes! And you better not be kidding about the Soke, Ichigo.", she said while running. Ichigo just smiled even more at the attitude she carried with her. He looked over to Nell and asked, "You too, if you want."

She just smiled like Ichigo, "Ok, but you better not be lying about it. Or I'm going to have to hug you.", she said with a mock-dangerous voice. Though it sounded playful, Ichigo knew full well that she wasn't kidding and since the first 'hug' he received from her, he never wanted to experience that again. But, even at the threat, he smiled even more and started to run towards the door. "I will, but only if you can beat me to the doors.", he said while running. "Hey, you cheated!", Nell yelled, running after him with a smile on her face as well.

When they reached the doors, Nell won, but she and Ichigo knew that he let her win. If he wanted to, he could've let her be three quarters of the way there and he'll still win. But, it was still fun. "Ok, that's enough fun for now, let's go.", Ichigo said to Nell who nodded. When the two entered, Ichigo only found Yoruichi, Toshiro, Isshin, Urahara, Kyouraku, Ukitake, Komamura, and Byakuya. He looked over at Nell, "I thought the meeting was going to start right now?"

"No, it starts 30 minutes from now.", Nell replied. She could tell that Ichigo didn't like to be tricked, but just dragged him over to the group that they both hang out with: Yoruichi, Isshin, Urahara, and Toshiro. Nell went over to talk with Rangiku, Hinamori, and Rukia, while Ichigo went to talk to the others.

"Man, a lot has happened in the last 3 years.", Ichigo stated.

"When I think about it, you're right.", Yoruichi replied. "Soifon and I still think it's the very next day since the winter war."

"Well, that's what happens when you have fun.", Isshin said. "Time just seems to fly by."

"That's for sure.", Urahara stated after his friend.

"Ichigo, how about a quick lap around the Seireitei?", Yoruichi said with some sort of glint in her eyes and a seductive smile. Ichigo was speechless for a moment, having seen and admired the sight for the first time. Finally regaining his composure, Ichigo answered. "Why not."

"First one to the underground training room, to Kukaku's and back wins.", Yoruichi stated the rules as she started to stretch. It was another first for Ichigo. Sure, he seen her stretch before, but this was the first time that he watched her and actually _'watch'_ her. "Yeah yeah, same rules as before. Where's Kukaku staying at this time?"

"In the southern part of the Rukon. What, to far for you?", Yoruichi taunted with a sly smirk. Ichigo gave a smirk right back to her.

"No, not for me, but for you. I don't want you to sprang your ankle on the way over there. I would have to carry you all the way back."

"I'm touched that you care so much about me. On 3. 1, 2, -", before she could finish, Ichigo did it for her.

"3!", and they both took off. They went so fast that a gust of wind went in everyones faces.

"There they go again. Who do you think is going to win this time, Isshin.", Urahara asked.

"Well, Ichigo did beat Yoruichi last time so I'm betting he'll do it again, though it's always a close one.", Isshin responded.

"I don't think so. Lady Yoruichi goes easy on him. She could beat him easily if she was really trying. Of course lady Yoruichi's going to win.", Soifon stated after Isshin.

"Well, it seems we're just have to find out.", Urahara said while taking out his little fan and pulling down his hat. He noticed that Isshin looked like he was somewhere else and was calm and quiet. _'That' _was VERY unusual for him. Soifon must've notice it too, for she asked, "What are you thinking about, Captain Kurosaki?"

He seemed to be coming out of a trance, "Huh, oh, nothing. Just remembering the time when Ichigo showed us that new form he reached."

"Yeah, that sure was something.", Urahara said while recalling the event.

* * *

Ok, here's chapter 5. It didn't take me as long as the last one did. Something better happen about Ichigo's spiritual powers, because it would be so sad to see Bleach end like that. In a few chapters, the action's going to be back, but not before Ichigo and Yoruichi have a few 'moments' together. Stay tuned.


	6. A new look

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Before I say anything, let me say that the following chapter will have just about every arc and movie within it. If you haven't seen any of the movies or arcs, and you don't like spoilers, don't read. Now that that's out of the way, let's get going with the story. Enjoy..

* * *

Ichigo and Yoruichi were blazing! Not even some of the faster soul reapers could even catch a glimpse of them. Yep, it was your usual race between the two, going as fast as you can go without leveling up. The route was always the same. Start from the captain's meeting room, race to whichever house Kukaku just happens to be living in at the moment, and race back. The prize? A free round of Sake. They would flash-step, jump from roof-top to roof-top, or just plain out run through the Seireitei. There were only two rules, if you mess your opponent up and save them, than that's one strike. Get there strikes and your out. The other was easy, just win and then drink to your heart's content, and your kidney's misery. Sometimes, Yoruichi would mess around with Ichigo to make him mess up and gain an advantage. Ichigo wouldn't take it lightly for he would do just as much. In this particular race, it wasn't a real race, just a fun little jog compared to how fast they would really go. They both had a smile on their mouths and were laughing the whole way. Suddenly, Yoruichi just stopped flash-stepping and started to run. Not wanting to miss out on possibly messing with her, Ichigo dropped out as well, chasing after her. He was running after her when she ran up and across a wall, reached in the back of her shoe, and threw 2 throwing knives at him. Caught off guard and in mid-step, Ichigo just moved his head over to dodge one, and had no choice but to take a scratch in the cheek from the second one. Not to be outdone, before the second knife that cut him got out of his reach, Ichigo, in one swift motion, grabbed the handle and threw it back at Yoruichi, who was still in the air. He aimed a little to the left to cut her on her right cheek, just like his. Yoruichi's eyes widened at the skill he just showed off, and temporarily lost her balance. Before she fell, Ichigo slid under her and caught her bridal style and held on to her while he slid across the surface. When they came to a stop, Ichigo whispered in her ear, "Strike one. Two more and I win."

Much to his astonishment, Yoruichi let a sly smirk grace her lips as she raised her hand up to cup the left side of his face, and whispered back, "Well then lets hope you can win, Ichigo.", she said in a sexy, sultry voice while sliding her hand down his face to add to the effect. And was the effect made! Ichigo was stunned for a moment. She never done _'that'_ before, just a smart comment here and there, but not _'this'._ Yoruichi gave a seductive smirk as she noticed the ever visible blush of the strawberry. Bringing her face closer, she continued in the same tone of voice, stare, and smirk, "Aw, that's sweet. Let me treat you to...something sweeter." Some people would've thought that he just came out of a really bad fight and was bloodied everywhere compared to how red he was now. Obviously pleased by the effect, Yoruichi got out of Ichigo's grip and ran off, smiling and laughing to herself as she ran.

'What the hell was that all about?', Ichigo asked himself.

'I don't know, but let's do it again!', Hichigo shouted in Ichigo's head. The two became visible for a moment and Ichigo could see both the hollow, _and_ Zangetsu smirking at the action.

'What the hell are you two smirking about?', Ichigo asked them.

'Nothing. Go or you'll lose.', Hichigo told Ichigo. Ichigo just realized that he just sat there while he talked to the two. Cursing at his own stupidity, Ichigo ran to catch up with Yoruichi. Yoruichi sensed Ichigo moving again and made a mental note to do that action again in the near future, she just couldn't stop laughing at he blush. With the laugh, Yoruichi slowed down, allowing Ichigo to catch up with her. Ichigo was trying to think of something to get even with her when he noticed a door-way to the underground water-ways and sewage system that him, Ganju, and Hanataro explored while trying to save Rukia a few years back. Having an idea pop inside his head, when Ichigo caught up to Yoruichi, who had no idea he was so close, he grabbed her wrist and dragged the wide-golden-eyed goddess through the doorway. Once inside, Ichigo and Yoruichi started to flash-step again as they searched for a way to exit the place, since as soon as Ichigo entered, he took a few turns and got lost. They decided to postpone the race as they found a way out of there. During this, Ichigo had time to reflect on how this all happened.

* * *

Chad gave Ichigo Zangetsu back when Ichigo came out of the hospital room's bathroom changed into his normal soul reaper attire. His entire body protested the idea that it had to move, but Ichigo made it move anyway. Ichigo stretched his entire body to ease the stiffness. Doing said act was accompanied with the popping of joints, particularly in the knuckles and his back. After Ichigo was done stretching, he and the rest of the group went outside. The environment could be described as hectic as there were soul reapers running to and fro with either some papers or tools to fix whatever damage that was done to the Soul Society.

"Why are there soul reapers that are doing repairs to the soul society? I thought the only parts that were damaged at all was the area that the real KaraKura Town was, and Sokyoku Hill?", Ichigo asked to no one in particular. Toshiro answered with,

"The soul society was strengthen to be able to stand against some of the strongest spiritual pressure that we thought were legendary. The fact that you and Aizen were able to destroy the Seireitei without even touching it shows the immense energy you have, Ichigo. Spiritual pressure doesn't just affect your body, but the environment around you as well. The only reason that no one notices this is because the soul society's walls and buildings were meant to withstand extraordinary pressure, so they don't react.", Toshiro explained. "You and Aizen let off so much combined spirit pressure that these same buildings cracked and some even broke."

"To simplify it for you, it means that you broke things without even touching them.", Rangiku said. Ikkaku suddenly glowed as he could process the smaller amount of words.

"If you can do that, then you and me are going to have to fight really soon.", he said while getting in Ichigo's face and giving an evil smirk.

Yumichika added for the first time since Ichigo woke up, "Yes, you do have a lot of spiritual pressure, but it's still not as beautiful as mine." Ichigo turned to him and pointed a finger at him, "The first thing you say since you got here, and of all things, you talk about the way my spiritual pressure looks."

"Beauty is everything.", Yumichika said while combing his hair. Ichigo just focused back on why they were even out here in the first place.

"So how do you want to do this, Toshiro?" A comical vein popped out on Toshiro's forehead.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Captain Hitsugaya to you.", after a few moments of calming down, "We are out here to see how your body is healing. You can't go to the meeting if your body can't even handle a simple walk."

"I guess that makes sense.", was all Ichigo said. Rukia spoke next.

"I have to report back to Captain Ukitake. I'll be back though.", and with that, she flash-stepped away.

"Well, I could use some exercise.", Renji said.

"Yeah, you do. You look a lot weaker than I remember.", Ikkaku muttered to himself.

"What was that?", Renji directed towards Ikkaku. Ikkaku turned around and got in Renji's face. "You heard me!"

"You want to fight about it?"

"Gladly. Just don't blame me if you wind up half-dead!"

"Not if I kill you first.", and they both flash-stepped away, arguing the entire way.

"A walk will make me sweat, and sweating destroys beauty. I would rather see those two kill each other.", Yumichika said also flash-stepping away. That left Ichigo, Toshiro, Rangiku, Chad, Uryu, Orihime, Nell, and Yoruichi. They just started to walk around for a while, talking and observing at the same time. The only one that seemed distant was Nell, a fact that didn't escape Ichigo. Ichigo was about to ask Nell what was wrong again when Toshiro stated, "It's 2:30. If we hurry, we can make it to the courtyard that the meeting will take place. This is another thing to look out for, Ichigo. Can you still perform a flash-step?"

"Of course. Lead the way.", Ichigo replied.

"We'll be a little late sense we'll have to run, but we'll see you there Ichigo!", Orihime said in a cheery tone. Ichigo gave a nod and he, Toshiro, Rangiku, Yoruichi, and Nell left for the courtyard.

When they got there, all of the captains, lieutenants, and even the Vizards were there, waiting. It turns out that the courtyard that the meeting was going to take place in was actually the biggest in the soul society. It was nothing but open space. The head-captain, captains, lieutenants, and the Vizards were on a building about 30 feet away. Once they noticed Ichigo, they all flash-stepped over to greet him. Once that was over, the head-captain spoke.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you have done the Soul Society a momentous favor. In the process of doing this, you have achieved a power that no one in all of the Soul Society believed could be reached. If you don't mine my asking, before we get this meeting underway, could you transform into that form for all of us to see.", he said the last part with a wave of his hand, which revealed something that Ichigo failed to notice. Every soul reaper in the soul society was there, watching him. He got a little nervous at that, but quickly regained his composure and answered.

"Not at all.", Ichigo answered.

"Thank you. We look forward to this experience.", Head-Captain Yamamoto finished. He and everyone else all flash-stepped over to the building, leaving Ichigo alone in the middle of the huge courtyard. Ichigo took a moment and took a breath. Then, he began to raise his spiritual energy to go into bankai.

'You guys ready for this?', Ichigo asked Hichigo and Zangetsu. They both materialized in his head nodded. 'Then let's do this.' Gathering the correct amount of spiritual energy, Ichigo held out Zangetsu with his right hand and placed his left over his right and yelled, "Bankai!" There was an explosion and a column of blue energy and spiritual pressure. The blue turned black and red as it fanned out and up. Ichigo was used to this experience, but something was off. It felt different. All of it. Ichigo was sure that he used the same amount of energy he used previous times to change, but it felt heavier, stronger. When the dust of the explosion settled, the column of spirit energy started to break and the difference became visible. Ichigo was in his usual bankai form, but with a few differences. His hair grew slightly, draping over his eyes. The right sleeve of the top was missing, being replaced with a pure black chain encircling the length of his wrist to his shoulder. Even Tensa Zangetsu changed. The blade was slightly longer than it usually is, but the most eye-catching thing was the guard. Instead of the usual, spiral design, the ends were tipped and sharp. They weren't close to the blade either, they were out further and were skinnier than the last time. The only thing that still had a resemblance to the old design was the hilt, still black with red, diamonded shape spots. The neck of the top was ripped as well. Everything else was still in it's normal design, the bottom still ripped and shredded. Ichigo noticed the shocked looks on every bodies faces. Wondering what they were looking at, Ichigo looked at himself and notice the changes. He was stunned to say the least. In doing the observation of himself, he noticed that his hair had grown to where he could see them. Looking for an explanation, Ichigo asked Zangetsu, who was now Tensa Zangetsu.

'What happened to my bankai!', Ichigo asked hysterically.

'This is what happened to your bankai after you used the Jinzen Getsuga Tensho. You didn't just achieve a new form, but you also changed your bankai due to the power and experience you gained over the past few days. Congratulations, you have done another thing that no other soul reaper has done before you, modify and strengthen you bankai.', Tensa Zangetsu said more calmly.

'Stop worrying, King. You've become stronger and that's what counts.', Hichigo added after Tensa Zangetsu. Ichigo just took a deep breath and focused back on his surroundings. He actually got a kick out of the reactions that were expressed. After a moment, the head-captain spoke.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, what has happened to your bankai?" To answer his question, Ichigo relyed Tensa Zangetsu's explanation. Some people were to awe-struck to hear it, but most did and accepted it. "Proceed.", the Head-Captain stated. Ichigo was really going to enjoy the next reaction. Taking a breath, Ichigo raised his left hand to his face and concentrated his spirit energy into it. The Vizards recognized the motion and the intensity in their eyes got stronger as they witnessed this, a fact that wasn't missed by Ichigo. Then, he pulled down his hand and his mask materialized over his face. His spiritual pressure changed and got even heavier; it also started to whip around widely. By now, most of the soul reapers knew that Ichigo could hollowfy, but few have actually seen this. Like Ichigo predicted, he enjoyed looking over the crowd and seeing the looks of horror, fear, and disbelief. Even Hichigo enjoyed it, laughing inside Ichigo's head. Like his bankai attire, the mask also changed. Over time, Ichigo's mask's design had been changing, going from just 2 stripes on one side, to just 2 large, vertical stripes going down the surface of the mask. The Vizards were the ones to ask the next question.

"Ichigo, what happened to your mask? When we first saw it, you had a few stripes on the left side, then a lot, then just 2 on each side.", Shinji asked. Ever since he beat his hollow, Ichigo had only seen the mask once, and remembered that it did have a few stripes on the left side, but what could be different? Curiosity took the better of Ichigo, and he took off the mask and looked at it. Shinji was right, the mask did changed. He decided to ask Hichigo, 'What's going on with my mask? When I think about it, the design changes every time I look at it.'

'The mask's designs represent the strength of your, as well as my, hollow powers. When you _and _I get stronger, our hollow power increases as well, as represented by the markings of the mask. Remember when you saw the mask for the very first time after you fought Renji? You only had about 2 or 3 stripes, and over time, the amount of stripes increased. Now, you and I reached a level that the mask has to represent not one, but two stripes. If the time comes that we get stronger, the stripes will come back and this time, on both sides. Tell that to the Vizard.', Hichigo answered. Ichigo did just that as he relyed the message of the mask's design. That led to another question, "Who told you that? Not your hollow, right?", Hiyori asked. Ichigo fumbled around for a moment and came up with, "After I made him submit to me, he told me about the mask before I gained control of my body." The Vizards seemed to accept this answer and Ichigo let off a sigh of relief. Proceeding with the presentation, Ichigo put the mask back on and started to power up again. He needed help for the next part of this transformation.

'Ok, all I have to do is jump off the edge of the building and reach my resolve, right?', Ichigo asked Tensa Zangetsu.

'Yes, but that's not entirely the case. One of us has to accompany you. Since I can't assume control of your body, Hichigo has to do it. Though I'm not sure if it would be safe for him to go out there.', Tensa Zangetsu said with a contemplating look.

'I can do it, I just have to keep my spiritual energy low and carry a constant scowl while you travel through your soul. Though you do already have the ma-, no that won't work. Guess there's no way around this, King.', Hichigo said the first part with a hint of humor, but the second part with a serious tone. Ichigo was at a loss for this as well. He got what Hichigo was going to say, since Ichigo has his mask on, they won't notice the changed besides the increase of hollow energy. But he is the hollow. If he goes out there, the mask will break, revealing him to everybody present. No doubt they'll think he took over and demand that he give control back to Ichigo. Ichigo sighed as he made his decision, 'Guess I'll just say your coming out and tell them you mean no harm.'

'Whatever, as soon as go out there, they'll be itching to grab their swords and chop me down at even the slightest flinch.'

'Guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves.', Ichigo responded while shoving Hichigo into control.

'What are you doing! If I get attacked, I won't hold back! You hear me!", Hichigo shouted while getting thrown into control. Once he assumed control, everyone immediately felt on edge. The mask broke except for a piece that hanged around the left eye. His spiritual energy switched, with the hollow energy more dominant that the soul reaper enegy. Just like the three of them expected, 5 captains and all 6 of the Vizards already surrounded him, swords already drawn. The selection of captains were Kyouraku, Ukitake, Byakuya, Toshiro, and Kenpachi. They all looked with a deadly glare, while Kenpachi was the only one that had a smirk on his face.

"I don't know how you assumed control after being defeated by Ichigo, but you're going to regret ever showing your ugly presence here.", Lisa said, every word dripping poison more deadly than Aizen's crazyness.

"I heard you put up a good fight. Let's see how good you really are.", Kenpachi said before charging towards Hichigo.

"I told King that I shouldn't be up here, but did he listen, NO!", Hichigo yelled while jumping up. While in the air, Byakuya flash-stepped behind him and asked, "What are you talking about?", while swinging down to cut the hollow in half.

"Well, if all of you stop with the attempting to kill me and Ichigo, I can explain.", Hichigo responded. Shinji appeared behind him and said, "Fat-chance. We do that, and you kill until either you die or you run out of people to kill." Once he finished, he took a swing at his head. Hichigo used the bankai's speed and got out of there before Shinji was even half-way through the swing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of pink, and heard a voice that confirmed his suspicions.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura" The pink that Hichigo saw attacked him with a passion. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by thousands of pink petals. They were about to enclose on him when he remembered what Ichigo did in this situation, but he did it in his unique way. He dropped Tensa Zangetsu and grabbed the end of the chain. In a show of utter skill and precision, the hollow swung Tensa Zangetsu in all different sorts of ways and swatted every petal away before they even got within 10 feet of him. Using this chance to attack, Toshiro, apparently already in his bankai, flew in and clashed swords with Hichigo. From behind, Kenpachi jumped up and made a wild swing across Hichigo's back. It connected and Hichigo closed his eyes due to the pain. Though wounded, he pushed back Toshiro and started to flash-step around. For a moment, nobody moved. How could they? Hichigo was moving so fast that he was practically invisible! Hichigo thought he was in the clear until a silver fist came and slammed him in the cheek. The result, Hichigo flying back almost 200 feet while holding his cheek and blood spurting out of his mouth. Once he forced the pain out of his mind, Hichigo planted his feet to the ground to come to a halt. Looking back at the direction he came from, he saw that in was Kensei, also in bankai. Before Hichigo could even begin to think of his next move, an orange foot crashed on the same side of his face that took the hit from Kensei. The kick sent him back 30 feet.

'Damn, my face is going to be mush if it keeps getting hit like this.', he thought while sliding to a stop. Shinji stepped up and stated, "Give Ichigo back, or you will die."

"You're making a big mistake. I'm not here to kill or even hurt anybody. I just have to temporarily take control of Ichigo's body while he transforms.", Hichigo yelled back angrily. He was telling the truth damn it! Why can't they get that? Before Shinji could reply, Kenpachi sprinted forward with a blood-thirsty smile.

"I don't care! I just want you to fight me!", he yelled with a gleeful tone. Hichigo just side-stepped Kenpachi, let go of Tensa Zangetsu, and swung it to hit Kenpachi with a shallow wound on his back. Kenpachi just straighten himself out and looked back at the hollow.

"What's wrong with you? Ichigo could give deeper cuts without even trying. Aren't you suppose to be some sort of threat to Ichigo? If this is your strongest, then I'm very disappointed.", Kenpachi said, for once his smirk not on his face.

"Please, I'm not even trying. If I go all out on all of you, you'll think that I really am trying to kill you; therefore, really do try to kill me in return. I'm trying to keep both myself and Ichigo alive. If you want to fight for real though, then just ask, and I'll give you a near-death experience, Kenpachi.", Hichigo said the first part with a matter-of-fact kind of tone, and the second part with a hint of a challenge. Kenpachi did get the message, and said, "Nobody interfere. It's going to be me and him.", and with that, he charged. But, before he even got five steps out, Hichigo was behind him and backhanded him across the cheek. This action sent Kenpachi flying and while he was in the air, the hollow flash-stepped about 15 feet above him and threw Tensa Zangetsu to the ground. It struck, and Hichigo pulled himself towards the ground while doing a front-flip and sticking out his right foot, resulting in Kenpachi inside the middle of a sizable crater. Kenpachi coughed up a little bit of blood, but nothing that will discourage the squad 11 captain. In fact, he got up with a smirk.

"You really are strong. That's perfect! We're going to have so much fun!", Kenpachi yelled while ripping off his eye-patch. His eyes glowed yellow as his tremendous spiritual energy spiked and flowed upwards. Hichigo just had a slight smirk as he said, "Then let's not disappoint. I saw you when you fought Ichigo the first time and I was impressed. Just try me, and let's see how fun this really gets!", by the end of his statement, the slight smirk grew to it's normal, unnatural size. Kenpachi, with a smirk just as huge, charged again and locked blades with the hollow. While the two combatants fought each other, the others observed intensely, making sure that the hollow didn't run off or kill anyone that was innocent. Hichigo flash-stepped right in front of Kenpachi and used the blunt end of the blade to send Kenpachi flying back to the ground. Hichigo dropped back to the ground, and by the time he touched the ground, Kenpachi was about to charge again. Before he could, Hichigo raised his arm up to stop him. The Vizards immediately stiffened, thinking that he was about to shoot a cero, when all he did was meant to stop Kenpachi.

"Wait. Ichigo's done and is going to come back. Now, you can see this transformation that Ichigo did. Oh, and by the way, you were average, Kenpachi. (He had to jump to the side to dodge Kenpachi's next attack that was particularly strong.)" When Hichigo said this, he can see some of the spectators loosen their grips on their swords and loosen up a little. He smirked at that while he closed his eyes.

'So, you're finally ready to do this? Took you long enough.', Hichigo said to Ichigo, who was staring at him in the eyes.

'How was Kenpachi? Was he strong in your opinion?', Ichigo asked with curiosity.

'Eh, he was alright. Now get out there before they think that your're struggling to get back control.', Hichigo said with a shove. Ichigo suddenly found himself in control. Just like they did when Hichigo said that Ichigo was coming out, the people around him sorta loosened up at the change in spiritual energy and pressure. He actually found it amusing.

'Great, I'm starting to be like you, Hichigo.' Ichigo could hear a faint 'Shut up' echo in his mind. Focusing back on the task at hand, Ichigo started to perform the transformation. He pulled out his hollow mask again, which made everyone cringe at the thick, heavy spiritual pressure. Ichigo let go of Tensa Zangetsu and started to spin it on it's chain. Once he did this for a few moments, he slammed the tip of it in the ground. Putting both hands on the hilt, Ichigo raised his spiritual pressure as high as it could go, closing his eyes in the process. Ichigo's spiritual energy started to become visible as it started to circle around him. Ichigo's eyes then flew open, his eyes turning from black and gold, to blue and black. At the opening of his eyes, Ichigo's spiritual energy spiked yet again, and this time, a pillar of spiritual energy sprung to life as it shot upwards. The sky started to turn from it's usual blue to a depressing black. The clouds started to move in a circular pattern around the pillar of spirit energy; lightning shooting off a irregular intervals. The wind picked up, whirling around Ichigo along with his spirit energy. Everyone was awe-struck by the show of this transformation. When you really look at it, it was amazing that someone could hold this much power. Soon, the spirit energy became solid and surrounded Ichigo, hiding him from everyone watching. After a few moments, the wind went from concentrated to expanding, whirling around everyone. The clouds scattered, which in turn, stopped the lightning. The spirit energy stopped going up, and the amount that was left in the sky came back to earth, attaching itself to the exterior of Ichigo. The spirit energy suddenly dispersed, flowing away with the wind. Once everyone focused back at the center of the courtyard, everyone's jaw hanged open, their eyes wide with amazement. Ichigo stood in the form that he defeated Aizen with.

"Jinzen Zangetsu", Ichigo said, his voice sounding like three people talking at once. (If you forgot about that little detail, as well as other details, go back two chapters. There, the entire description of Ichigo in this form is listed. ) After a few minutes of gawking, the head-captain spoke.

"This is really an accomplishment, Ichigo Kurosaki. I speak for the entire Soul Society when I say that you are truly an exceptional soul reaper and human. Thank you for the demonstration that you presented to us. You may go back to your original state." Ichigo nodded and smiled at the praise he received from the head-captain personally. His spirit energy swirled around him again and hid him from everyone, again. When the spirit energy dispersed, Ichigo was in his bankai form, but spirit energy seemed to evaporate from him and within a few seconds, was back at his original form. Ichigo took a deep breath as both he and his body wasn't used to the change. The advantage of this though, is the information that Tensa Zangetsu told him regarding the Jinzen Zangetsu. The first time involved distress, meaning that it wasn't intensional. But, that also meant that Ichigo could now reach this form. This second time was the clincher, meaning that now, Ichigo could transform into Jinzen Zangetsu anytime he wanted to without the hollow taking over while he reached the form. He was grateful for that. Though he was sure that he would probably never use it again, it was still good news to know that it was on stand-by whenever he needed it most. Also, he could access this power without interrupting the fight. Ichigo opened his eyes and suddenly got a familiar feeling. He raised Zangetsu, now in it's large, bulky form, to his left to parry a blow from none other than Isshin.

Ichigo's scowl deepened and his tone got harsh as he said, "Damn it dad, I have had enough of this stupid 'training' exercise you do 24-hours a day! Quit it!". When he finished, he gave a hard shove and attempted to attack his mid-section. As he predicted, Isshin tried to counterattack with a high, overhead swing. Using the sides of Isshin, Ichigo gave him a slice on his hip, spun around, and sent a hard fist into Isshin's back. The hit made Isshin fly forwards, but before he could get far, Ichigo grabbed his pants leg and slammed him to the ground. Finally, he picked him up from his pants leg and threw him back to his original direction, causing Isshin to crash into the ground. "I don't know why the 4th squad barracks let you off early, but they better ready an operation room to reconstruct your body after I'm done with you!", Ichigo yelled while sliding his right sleeve up to his shoulder and shooting fire from his breath. (Not literally. It would be funny though if he did, :D It would be his new technique, fire-breathing.) Ichigo was thrown from his anger to realize that four little hands encircled his waist. Looking down, he saw Karin and Yuzu clinging to him while asking question after question. He also saw his usual group of friend, acquaintances, and helpers walking towards him. (Helpers: Urahara and his group. Friends: Tatsuki, Keigo, ect., Rukia, Renji, ect. Acquaintances: Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika. Toshiro was the only one missing.) But before any of them could even say anything to each other, Head-Captain Yamamoto spoke.

"Now, for the true reason why we are all present at this place and time. Residents of Karakura town, we are very burdened and shamed that you all were involved with affairs outside of your comprehension. We will transfer you back to your town in the real world as quickly and efficiently as possible. Shinji Hirako, and the rest of you so called Vizards. Though we did not request it, you arrived and assisted us on a threat that you could have avoided and fade away into the shadows. We have finally come to the conclusion that your banishment and execution were too extreme and unjustifiable. As of this moment, you have all been lifted of your status as threats and enemies. If at all possible, we would like to put the past between us behind and move forward, as well as form some sort of an alliance. Kisuke Urahara, Tessi Tsukabishi, and Yoruichi Shihouin. Along with the Vizards, the three of you were also banished and ridiculed. But, you have proved helpful in the past and never distrusted us. We are grateful for your cooperation and as of this moment, are considered allies of the Soul Society and all of it's inhabitants.", the head-captain stated as he talked to each group individually. Then, the star.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Among all of the soul reapers that the Soul Society has ever seen or produced, you are by far the most powerful. You have helped and saved us more times than most soul reapers have a chance to. The invasion of the Soul Society, the Bounts, the Zampakutou rebellion, the help and solution of a royal family as well as the victory over Sosuke Amagi, the victory over Blade, the assistance in the defeat of Kusaka Sojiro, and now Aizen, his espada, and his evil plans to take over the Soul Society and murder the Soul King. Through this all, you have acquired powers none have ever seen before. Such achievements have not gone unnoticed by the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and the new Central 46 council. As for a reward for all of your efforts, your name will be forever engraved in the Soul Society's records, as well as the Soul King's hall of legends, as the hero and savior of the Soul Society.", at this, everyone cheered and clapped while Ichigo was wide-eyed and red with embarrassment. Before Ichigo could even make a sound, the head-captain continued, "Also, as another reward, The Thirteen Court Guard Squad Captains and the new Central 46 Council have all voiced their opinions, (he pauses for dramatic effect), and they all approve you for a position as one of the Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." The volume of the cheers and whistles increased ten fold as they also voiced their approval of Ichigo. This news sparked a new fire in Isshin's eyes as he jumped out of the ruble he was in and pounced on Ichigo, crying and praising all at the same time. Ichigo was to shocked to even notice the weight of an overreacting Isshin on his shoulders. The others were just as shocked as he, but they got over it faster as they should have seen this coming. Everything said about Ichigo was true, and he did have a lot of big-time accomplishments that would almost guarantee a position as captain. When all the noise died down, the head-captain continued, "Ichigo Kurosaki, do you accept?"

Ichigo was to shocked by all this news to think clearly. 'Me, a captain? Do I really deserve that honor?'

'WHAT! What the hell is there to think about! You, Captain, Soul Society, take?', Hichigo said outraged by Ichigo's stupidity. He had to break down the last part, pausing in-between words for Ichigo to understand.

'He has a point Ichigo. You have no reason to not accept the proposal. We think you should take it.', Zangetsu said after the hollow.

'But what about Karakura Town? Who's going to defend it while I'm here being a captain?', Ichigo inquired.

'Your father. And if he can't do it, then that afro guy that's suppose to be protecting Karakura Town. See? Everything works out. Just take the position already.', Hichigo said. Zangetsu nodded in approval of Hichigo's solution. After a few moments of critical thought and balancing the pros and cons, he came up with his answer. He focused back on the outside world and voiced his answer,

"Yes." Another uproar of cheers and whistles. Isshin got giddy again and started bouncing on Ichigo yet again. This time, however, Ichigo did notice him, and quickly removed him. After a few moments, the head-captain spoke, "We are all privileged to have you join our ranks, Ichigo. When this is all finalized, you may select your lieutenant. On with other business. Yoruichi Shihouin, as former 2nd squad captain and punishment core leader, with permission and idea of Caption Soifon, would you like to retake your position as captain of the 2nd squad?" Yoruichi seemed to think for a moment, then looked at Soifon. Through some sort of telepathic communication, she seemed to smile and say, "Yes." Another uproar was made as the head-captain repeated the same thing that was said to Ichigo. Once the noise died down and the head-captain finished, the Head-captain continued with the other captain positions.

"Now that that is complete, we still have the three captain positions that the traitors Gin Ichimaru, Tousen Kaname, and Sosuke Aizen abandoned. These must be filled. With the 3rd squad, the previous captain before Gin Ichimaru was Roujuurou Ootoribashi, or Rose. Rose, would you like to retake your position as captain?" Everyone's eyes were on the blond man. He and the other Vizards talked about something, but they seem to come to an agreement as Rose looked back and said, "Yes." Yet another roar of cheers and whistles. In this time period, Ichigo just had a thought, 'Rose is blond, but so is Kira. Ha, they'll be the only blond captain and lieutenant tag-team in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.' Brushing that off, Ichigo focused back on the 'meeting.'

"The 3rd seat has been filled. Now, for the 5th. The previous holder of this seat was Sosuke Aizen. Before him however, was Shinji Hirako. Shinji, do you want your previous title back as Captain of the 5th squad?" Shinji looked like he did think about this, but must've found an answer quickly for he said shortly after, "No." Everyone was quiet. The head-captain didn't look phase however, and said, "That is truly unfortunate. If this is your choice, then so be it." The head-captain didn't waste time getting emotional though, for he quickly said, "Isshin Kurosaki, how about you? It is our understanding that you were close to achieving captain level yourself. Do you want the position?" Ichigo got nervous. If he says yes, then who's going to take care of Karin and Yuzu? Who's going to protect Karakura town from the hollows and any other threat that it may face? Ichigo looked at his father, and saw that he too was shocked. But, he got up and, much to Ichigo's worst nightmare, "Yeah!" The predictable chorus of cheers and whistles happened again. He was wondering how Hinamori would cope with Isshin. He was wild. He didn't think to long though, for once again, the head-captain's voice pierced through his thoughts, "Then it is decided. Now, with the last of the squads, the 9th squad. The previous holder of this title was Tosen Kaname. The holder before that was Kensei Muguruma. Kensei, do you wish to reclaim your title?" Kensei thought for a moment. He didn't really like the world of the living much. They were too laid back for his taste. With this in mind, Kensei answered, "Why not." Usual crowd reaction happened again. "Now all seats have been fulfilled. Within the next 2 days, they will be official and we will start our repairs to all of the Soul Society." Another thought came to Ichigo's mind.

'If all of the slots have been filled, then what squad to I go to?' Ichigo was about to ask, but was cut off by the head-captain speaking again.

"Now, for the last bit of business. Step forth, Nell. Bring out the other two hollows as well." Ichigo was confused at what was going on. Why did he ask, well tell, Nell to step up? And...why the hell are Peshe and Dondochakka in a cage? The head-captain spoke, answering Ichigo's unasked questions. "If you didn't realize this, the three presented are all hollows. Not just normal hollows, but arrancars. Though they have proved helpful, we no longer have a need for them. Like all hollows, we must purify all of the wrongs that these three beings have performed by executing them. This is why you are here." Ichigo just about flipped!

"Why!", Ichigo yelled at Head-Captain Yamamoto. Yamamoto just shifted his gaze from Nell and her brothers, to Ichigo. "If it wasn't for them, then I would've died a long time ago. You would've died a long time ago as well. She saved us! Her and her brothers. They shouldn't be punished, but rewarded! They haven't hurt a thing besides some of the espada. In fact, they have never even gone to the real world. They don't need to be executed!", Ichigo yelled while running in front of Nell. He understood now. Why she wasn't herself, being a little distant. She must've found out about this and was sad. It wasn't fair. She did nothing wrong. Ichigo wasn't about to betray the three that sacrificed their lives and went against their own kind. He wasn't going to let anything happen to Nell or the others. He hardened his resolve and looked Head-Captain Yamamoto dead in his closed eyes. Said closed eyes opened a fraction.

"Why do you defend them, Ichigo?", Yamamoto asked.

"Because the three of them are as much as my friends as my actual friends and the whole Soul Society.", Ichigo answered back immediately, his glare landing right on the head-captains eyes. The head-captain seemed to contemplate this for a moment.

"She and the others have no rank as soul reapers. They are nothing but a powerful hollows, nothing but instinct and death. If they had some sort of ties with the Soul Society, then it would be illegal for them to be executed. Since they don't have that however, nothing is in our way of executing them.", Head-Captain Yamamoto said after a moment. What Ichigo did next had nothing to do with rational thinking.

"Then I choose my lieutenant. It is Nell. Since she has family that is in the process of execution, and with her as my lieutenant, you, by law, have to void any and all execution forms and dates.", Ichigo said immediately after the head-captain finished speaking. The head-captain just stared for a moment, eyes gone meaning he's deep in thought. Finally, he spoke.

"Before I approve this, I must give fair warning. If these three cause any trouble or are the suspect of a dead soul, we will execute them on the spot. With this in mind, do you still want to have Nell as your lieutenant?"

"Yes."

"Then it is approved." Once he said this, the head-captain waved his hand and the cage door opened, letting Peshe and Dondochakka out into freedom. They immediately went to hide behind Nell, who was behind Ichigo. Before Ichigo lost the attention of the head-captain, he asked, "One more thing of business. If all of the captain spots are taken, then what squad to I belong to?"

"Due to the recent amount of activity, more souls are coming in and we must create a new squad, if they want to become Soul Reapers. You are now the new and first Captain of the newly created 14th squad." The loudest uproar of cheers and whistles happened once he was done. Head-Captain Yamamoto didn't even wait for it to clear, "Meeting, adjourned.", and he and the other captains walked away.

* * *

Ichigo was brought out of his daydream by a blinding, bright light. Yoruichi had finally found a door to get out of the underground water-ways. She had somehow found a way to get past Ichigo and threw a kick at the middle of the door to break it open. The explosion of color and light temporarily blinded him, but he quickly got his barings back as he continued to chase Yoruichi around and win the race. Ichigo tried to sense where they were, and found out that they were pretty close to Kukaku's place already. Yoruichi must've notice it as well, for she quickly went to the direction that Kukaku was. The race was back on as they speed off. After a few minutes of playing and joking, they reached Kukaku's place, which was surrounded by a large moat. It looked like Yoruichi was going to reach her house first, but Ichigo had an idea. He took the cloth of Zangetsu and threw it forwards, catching Yoruichi on the foot. Yoruichi did a face-plant with her left leg up, the leg that the cloth was around. Ichigo ran past her and removed the cloth around her foot without even stopping. Once the cloth came back to Ichigo, he jumped across the moat. When he was half-way past the moat, Yoruichi flash-stepped above him and kicked him down into the water. She landed on land, and this little piece of land was Kukaku's. Yoruichi made the half-way mark first. When Ichigo came up for air, she turned around and folded her arms across her chest.

"You know, Kukaku put some sharks and alligators in the moat. If I were you, I would get out as quickly as possible.", she said with a smirk.

"Please, there's no way that Kukaku can put," he couldn't finish for something bit him. Hard. Ichigo cried out in pain and when he looked at his hand that had been bit, he saw a tiger shark with it's jaws clamped on it. Out in the distance, Ichigo saw something that looked like a giant green lizard. Upon further inspection, turns out that it was indeed an alligator. The tiger shark pulled at Ichigo's hand and Ichigo returned his gaze back at the shark. It finally clicked, "I'm being eaten by a shark!", Ichigo yelled as he jumped out of the water. Yoruichi was laughing her ass off.

"What kind of...stupid retard...justs stays their while...they get bitten by a shark?", Yoruichi gasped in-between breaths for laughter.

"A orange headed strawberry, that kind of retard.", a voice said. Yoruichi looked up and saw Kukaku in all of her glory, besides a scared little brother, Ganju, behind her. Yoruichi jumped up and gave her a nice, big hug. "Hey Kukaku! Long time, no see."

"You're right, it's been far too long.", Kukaku said with a smile while hugging Yoruichi back. Ichigo sneaked up to Ganju and said, "Didn't they meet, like, a week ago?"

"Yeah, it's strange.", Ganju answered.

"Love to stay and chat Kukaku, but we have to attend the captains meeting in about, (She thinks for a moment) what, 15 minutes?", Yoruichi said.

"Damn it! More like 5!", Ichigo said once he checked his watch he had in his pocket. Yoruichi went pale at the news. She remembered when she and Ichigo took too long on these little 'races', Head-Captain Yamamoto made them run around the Seireitei 5000 times. It sucked! Ichigo must've remembered too, for he was getting frigidity. Kukaku remembered when that happened and started laughing her ass off. "You two should stay here for a few minutes. You know, hang out.", she said wit her sly smirk.

"No thank you.", Ichigo said while grabbing Yoruichi by the hand and flash-stepping away. In between flash-steps, Ichigo told Yoruichi, "We'll need to go as fast as we can for this one."

"The deal's still on, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then get ready for an empty wallet."

"Yeah, yeah I got you. Don't overdo it though, your hair might slap you in the face."

"Shut up. I thought we were in a hurry."

"Damn right we are. Move!", Icihgo said while smirking at the last word. Yoruichi smirked at how stupid the last part sounded. They turned the jets on as they flash-stepped at new speeds. I took them about 20 minutes to get to Kukaku's place, but took them 3 minutes to get back to the Captain's meeting room. Once they got there, all of the captains were there. The only one missing was Head-Captain Yamamoto, but he always comes last as he comes at the moment the meetings are suppose to start. When they got there, Yoruichi remembered something, "We didn't go to the training room. It's not that far. If we go as fast as we can and come back at the same speed, then this race would be over and you'll have to treat me to sake."

"I'll like to treat you to more than just sake...", Ichigo said smoothly while taking a step to her. She blushed somewhat, for her dark skin hid most of it. It was still satisfying though. Ichigo smirked as he flash-stepped away. After around 3 seconds, she realized that she had been standing there for no reason and would've face-palmed if she had the time. She flash-stepped as fast as she could, and when she got to the training grounds, Ichigo was laying on his back with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. Yoruichi had an idea and lowered her spiritual pressure. Then, she slowly crawled on all fours as she go closer to his ear. Once she was close enough to nibble his ear, she spoke, "For a race, you look pretty relaxed. Let me relax you even more.", she said slowly and sexually as she nibbled on his ear. Ichigo's face went blood red as he opened his eyes and jerked up. If not for the time limit, Yoruichi would've died laughing at his expression. Priceless. She was about to flash-step away, but Ichigo grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She ran right into his chest, making him fall backwards.

"What were you going to do, grabbing my wrist like that?", Yoruichi smirked as she noticed the way they fell.

"I was going to throw you in the training room and run off, but you ran into me to quickly and made me fall.", Ichigo said back. Then, they made eye-contact for the first time that day, gold of beauty and mystery, meeting brown of caring and strong, and couldn't break it. They felt both of their heads getting closer to each other, inch by agonizing inch. Centimeters apart were their faces when Ichigo suddenly stopped. He was the first one to regain his composure and checked the time, moving Yoruichi off of him that blew her back to her senses.

"One minute! We got to go, now!", Ichigo said while jumping up and flash-stepping off. Yoruichi was right behind him but not that far. They were almost there when Yoruichi really pushed herself and one by a foot.

"Told you...I was...going to win.", Yoruichi said with a proud smile while gasping for air.

"I guess. Jeez...I'm gonna...go broke. I have...to get Nell...some sake too.", Ichigo replied, gasping for air like Yoruichi.

"Ichigo, Yoruichi. Hurry and get in line, the meetings about to start.", Toshiro said. Ichigo and Yoruichi quickly and swiftly got in line, Yoruichi next to Soifon, and Ichigo next to Nell. As soon as they did, Head-Captain Yamamoto walked out and called the meeting to begin.

* * *

I don't know if that was a good chapter or not, tell me if it wasn't. I'm sorry, I got a cold. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. Winter isn't even here and I get struck first. Well, anyway, this was the last chapter that will have flashbacks in it. Not for the whole story, just for a while. I don't know when I'll update again due to this stupid cold so, just fair warning. Hope you liked the 'moments' I gave to Ichigo and Yoruichi. The relationship will just get better and better. R&R, and stay tuned!


	7. Calm Before The Storm

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, and never will. (Sobs in a corner) But, I do own the characters that

I'm finally over the cold in case anyone was wondering. For obvious reasons, I'm changing the content level from T to M. Hell, this is rated R. You'll be able to tell a little early in the chapter. You've been warned. I wasn't sure if this was an appropriate title for this chapter, but to late now. With that out of the way, here's number 7: _Calm Before The Strom_

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* * *

_

The meeting of the captains was nothing special, just talk and briefings and things of that category. Second only to the grueling paperwork, the Captain's Meetings were the most hated event in Ichigo's mind. He rarely paid any attention to them. Nell, on the other hand, would be considered his polar opposite on the subject. She thought they were one of the most important, as well as exciting, events in a captain's role and duty. Ichigo always got a kick at how receptive and aware she was during meetings. It was a little awkward at first having her in there but after a while, some people can go as far as to say that some of the captains actually forgot Nell was not only just a hollow, but arrancar. Besides the times when his opinion was asked for, Ichigo didn't really put in that much input. On the other hand, being his polar opposite, Nell would have something to say on just about everything. At first, she was just as quiet as Ichigo when she started going to these meetings, but now, she was a well respected individual and the head-captain, as well as the other captains that were paying attention, always heard her out. In a way, she was the actual captain of the 14th court guard squad. After a good hour and a half, the meeting came to a close and they all left to go about their business. Some stayed behind to review and further discuss the meeting's topic, which Ichigo was reluctantly part of as all of his friends were doing just that.

"Why don't you ever pay attention to the meetings? You can actually learn something you know.", Nell lectured to Ichigo while walking over to Rangiku, Hinamori, and Rukia, who just arrived to get an update.

"Because you're just going to tell me the whole thing over again when we do something. I honestly don't see how you can even stay awake in there, let alone you being as wide awake as you.", Ichigo said. He did sound like he just awoke from some daze or nap. Nell just smiled as she knew it was true. That, and she just happened to remember the little bet made earlier.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just don't forget about the free round of sake you owe me and Rangiku. Oh, and Yoruichi too.", Nell's playful smile grew as she noticed Ichigo go a little pale and mutter something to himself.

"Yeah, you do owe me some sake, Ichigo. You better not be expecting me to take it easy on the drinks either. You should bring all of your money, just in case.", Rangiku shouted after Nell, overhearing the conversation. This time, Ichigo groaned and face-palmed, and Nell and Rangiku turned back to Rukia and Hinamori to tell them of the days events so far and the events still to come. Leaving the four of them in giggles, Ichigo turned back to his father, Urahara, Toshiro, and Yoruichi.

"Why do all meetings have to take so long?", Ichigo asked to nobody in particular.

"Suck it up. Being a captain doesn't just mean squad management and crisis control, but also the little things like meetings. But, you do have a point, they take a while.", Toshiro said at first with a stingy-like attitude, but had the same bored tone as Ichigo did when he asked the question.

"Yeah, I didn't really like the meetings myself. Funny how little the 'meetings' changed in the last 100 years.", Urahara commented.

"Come on Kisuke, you weren't even here when the meeting took place. You were outside waving your fan around at strange old women walking past you while the four of us had to listen to the same boring subject over and over again.", Yoruichi followed, motioning to Toshiro, Ichigo, and Isshin when mentioning 'us.' Urahara's only response was the appearance of his fan.

"Don't have to be so hostile, Yoruichi. And besides, they weren't old, strange women, but beautiful, elegant, attractive women that deserve a second look.", Urahara said in his own defense. By the tone in his voice, they could all tell that he wore a large smirk.

"So how's Tessi, Jinta and Ururu? Are they good, Jinta still giving Ururu a hard time?", Isshin said, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Why such a sudden change in topic? To answer your questions, fine, and yes.", Urahara said. After a moment, Isshin responded.

"The reason why I changed the subject was because talking about old women made me feel old. I'm still young! I can still knock women down with the wink of an eyelash.", Isshin said with a fist pump and a foot raised on some object. The object moved and then vaulted Isshin in the air. As it turns out, the object was Ichigo.

"I'm gonna kill you for that you stu-", Ichigo was cut off for a hand waved itself in front of Ichigo's face. It was Yoruichi's hand.

"Before you kill your old man, you still have to take us out for a drink.", she said while, as by some miracle, Nell and Rangiku stood behind her. The reason why Ichigo was surprised to see the two there was because just a minute ago, they were literally on the other side of the room.

"We hope you won't mind if we invite a few friends over for a shot as well, Ichigo.", Rangiku said while motioning to Rukia, Hinamori, and Soifon. Soifon was only going because Yoruichi was going. Ichigo could already feel his wallet get lighter. He felt a hand on his shoulder and when he turned to look, saw Urahara, Isshin, and Toshiro there. He already knew what that meant. His wallet got even more lighter.

"Ichigo's going to treat all of us to some sake? Can we come too?", a curious Kyouraku asked while Ukitate and Unohana stood beside him. Ichigo again felt his wallet go down to the point of complete emptiness. Kyouraku and Ukitake were some of the best drinkers in the soul society. They were professionals. They could go far past the point of passing out for the average person and still just be buzzed. Yoruichi looked at Ichigo with a smirk as she said, "Looks like we're going to have a party tonight. Thanks for this, Ichigo.", and with that, she flash-stepped away. She was followed by everybody else, all of them going to the bar that sorta became the unofficial Captain's Lounge. Ichigo just took a deep breath as he dreaded the next few hours of semi-drinking and partying.

'Think you can materialize us and treat us to some sake too?', Hichigo's voice piped out of nowhere. He snickered when Ichigo visibly jumped at his voice. After regaining his nerves, Ichigo answered sternly.

'No.', and continued to follow the others.

'Cheapskate.'

'You try to take all of these people out for a round of sake. There's noway that I'll have any money after this.'

'...cheapskate...', Ichigo barely heard. He stopped when he noticed the others slowing down and then dropping to the ground. They were at the bar, and Yoruichi, Nell, and Rangiku mobbed Ichigo.

"Waiter, just give us the usual.", Yoruichi yelled. As it turns out, the waiter knew every bodies favorite drink, especially the three around Ichigo. After a few quick moments, the drinks were literally slid across the counter-top. Each women grabbed their drinks respectively and after a few more moments, more drinks were slid, Ichigo and the other males grabbed their drink.

"Let's party!", Isshin yelled. His response was a loud roar as everyone started to have some fun, while Ichigo just said goodbye to the last of his cash. But, he soon got into the mood of the party as well.

* * *

(Somewhere in the forest of the Rukon District)

"Ha, so this is what the Soul Society looks like? Never thought it would look so sickening. What is that, a tree, grass?"

"Do we really have to be here? We should have just sent the drones over first. This is making me sick to my stomach, to much pansy ass shit going on in this place for me and my stomach to handle."

"Shut up. If you assholes do this quickly and efficiently, then we could be back before the sun raises. But, lets get back before that though, I heard the view of the sun raising is suppose to be disgustingly pleasant, and I don't want to be here when that happens."

"You got a point. So bro, what the hell are we even here for?"

"Yeah, can't you do it yourself? I would rather be back torturing people and beating the shit out of the workers."

"Yeah, I could. But you two look like you were getting weak, fat, and lazy, so I had to drag your asses out here. Now for the other question, you'll see when we get there."

"Bastard, who you calling weak? I'm the strongest one here."

"Bullshit, I am!"

"Shut up you two. I'm the oldest, making me the strongest by both strength, stamina, speed, endurance, and energy. Now come on, the more time we waste, the more time we waste it here."

Walking down a path, a person would see 3 men, all looking in their mid-twenties. They were walking side-by-side, all having a close resemblance with the other, facial wise. On the right, stood the tallest and the most muscular person in the group, shirtless, with brown, messy hair that hung over his hazel eyes. He had long, black cargo pants that were rolled up to his knees, a silver chain wrapped around his waist, and brown motorcycle gloves, and a chain hanging around his neck with a pendulum. On the left, though still tall, stood the shortest, though not by much, and visibly muscled even though he wore the heaviest set of clothing. He also had long, flowing hair, though it stopped right above his eyes and was black. He had deep, almost glowing blue eyes, and a slight shadow along his jaw line. He wore a white t-shirt with a flaming, black-and-white bird on the front that seemed to run around the sides to go to the back, which was covered by a silver jacket with the outlines of flames on the bottom, the hood up. Under the hood was a solid black cap. He also had motorcycle gloves that were black, black cargo pants with gold zippers on the sides and rear, and black shoes with red and white trim. The one in the middle was the second tallest, but stood out the most. He also had a black jacket with the sleeves ripped off and no undershirt, exposing his defined chest and arms. He also had motorcycle gloves that were dark blue. He had black jeans that stopped at the knee, and had the same shoes as the short one except they were dark blue all around. But, the most eye-catching thing about this one, was his hair and eyes. His hair was the longest, stopping just under his chin, and was blue. His eyes contradicted this by being crimson red that also seemed to glow.

Putting his hands in his pockets, the middle one said while walking forward, "Lets go kick some asses in and raise hell.", while wearing a smirk. The other two smirked as well and started to walk forward behind him.

* * *

Back at the bar, Ichigo and the rest of the party had and were still having a good time. The amount of booze and alcohol consumed by the party members would've left some people shaking their heads. But, if they knew that Kyouraku and Ukitake were there, then they would understand. Not to mention the drinking contest that everyone had. It consisted of a number system with the winner of each game earning a point. The first team to reach 25 wins. That's right, 25 drinking games that were learned over the centuries. In reality, they were over 75 games that the combined knowledge of these party animals knew about, but it would take forever and their tolerance, even Kyouraku's tolerance, couldn't hold out that long. Isshin, Ukitake, Kyouraku, Urahara, and Ichigo were the mens team, and Rukia, Nell, Rangiku, Unohana, and Yoruichi were the womens team. Usually, it wouldn't be gender vs. gender, but they had enough of both sexes to do it. The score was 12 to 12, and the winner of the next game would win the overall contest. All members were almost to drunk to even remember what they were doing, but Toshiro, Hinamori, and Soifon, who had been drinking, but not at the ridiculous amount of the contestants, guided them back and played as referees.

"Alright, the next game is 'Fuck this shit, I'm going to Mars!'. (Yes, my friend told me about it, and I had to look it up. This is a real game.) The rules are simple. Everyone must take a 1.5 oz drink for every minute and must finish it. If you don't, you're out. For every 5th shot of Beer, replace with liquor. Are we ready?", Toshiro asked a little shakily.

"Can it shorty! Just pour the fucking beer already!", Rangiku yelled, completely drunk.

"Shut it, double D!", Toshiro yelled as everyone laughed their asses off. Hinamori and Soifon practically fell over themselves trying to get to the table with the beer, but got their and the game began. Everyone finished the first round in under 30 seconds, so they shortened the time to every 30 seconds. (2 freaking shots a minute!) Rukia was the first one to go, but she was followed shortly by Isshin. Then, Nell, Ukitake, Urahara, and Rangiku, in that order. It was left to Ichigo and Kyouraku, and Unohana and Yoruichi. They had to switch the beer for liquor for the third time, which resulted in Unohana and Kyouraku collapsing down simultaneously. Ichigo and Yoruichi both wobbled and Ichigo almost fell down, but shook his head and forced himself up while Yoruichi had a easier time adjusting to the change. The next shot happened and they past through it. The next, and the next, and barely through the fourth. Then the switch. Once Ichigo and Yoruichi gulped down this shot, they hit their limit and both fell, Ichigo on top of Yoruichi.

"And the winners, the men!", Toshiro said. Comically, all of the fallen men jumped to their feet and yelled one final time before falling back down to the ground, passed out. Toshiro was the only exception. Except for Hinamori and Soifon, the rest of the women already passed out. Ichigo and Yoruichi however, were wide awake.

Ichigo smirked, not knowing the position the two were in, and said smugly, "I win." Yoruichi bested his smirk with her own trade-make smirk.

"Whaddaya know, looks like you won after all...", Yoruichi said huskily while her eyelids closed slightly, making her look and sound unbelievably sexy. That's when Ichigo got a good look at her, at her dark, smooth skin, to her vibrant, luscious purple hair, flawless features, to her mysterious, alluring, and just plain out sexy, lustful, golden eyes. He seen all of this before, but this was completely different. For the second time that day, their faces started getting closer. Their lips were only centimeters apart when, a hell butterfly flew in saying in Head-Captain Yamamoto's voice...

"All Fourteen Court Guard Squads report to the meeting room immediately! This is not a drill!", at the sound of Yamamoto's voice, all of the passed out captains and lieutenants woke up, got up, and flash-stepped, though sloppily and slowly, to the Captain's meeting room. It also broke up Ichigo and Yoruichi as Ichigo pushed himself off of Yoruichi, helped her up, and were both off. When they got there, they found themselves to be arriving with the rest of the captains at the same time. Everyone at the party was starting to feel the effects of one of the most painful hangovers they had ever experienced. Kenpachi looked like he just got out of bed, yawning and stretching. Rose, Komamura, Kensei, Byakuya, and Kurotshuchi were wide awake and alert. They all got in their positions as the head-captain walked out, quickly. For the head-captain to walk quickly meant that something big was troubling him.

"I have very grim news. Reports have come from the Southern Rukon districts that some hooligans, most likely Ryoka, have started an uproar and is destroying parts of the Rukon as we speak.", Yamamoto said.

"Ryoka? What made you come to that conclusion, head-captain? If there were any ryokas, then we would've detected them.", Komamura asked.

"Yes, we would've. There is noway in the Soul Society without my squad at least catching some sort of Senkei Gate or Garganta portal opening up.", Kurotshuchi stated.

"Because we have no documentation of these people that are causing havoc. And we didn't have any authorization of entry by Senkei Gate or otherwise. Also, these hooligans are expressing unidentified spiritual signatures."

"What does that mean?", Rose asked.

"The spiritual energy released by these possible ryoka are not of Soul Reaper or Hollow origins. This is something completely new.", though most of them were drunk or buzzed, everyone's face grew grim at that statement.

"Do we have any idea what it can be?", Kensei asked next.

"We do not, but we are intended to find out. I'm sending Captains Zaraki, Shihouin, and Kurosaki to intercept them. Captain Unohana, I want you to ready your squad for any possible injuries that may happen. Captain Kurotshuchi, I want you to record the spiritual presence and try to identify it. I also want you to try and locate these unknown signatures and see if they came through the Senkei Gate. If not, then find the way they did. The rest of the squads, I want the rest of you to prepare your squads for possible combat. You may present them with this information if you find the need to do so. Now, go!", and with that, everyone flash-stepped away to complete their orders.

"Nell, I want you to go back to the squad and get them ready. I'll be back.", Ichigo told Nell, who nodded and they both flash-stepped away.

"Soifon, same orders as Nell.", Yoruichi said.

"Be careful, Lady Yoruichi.", Soifon flash-stepped away before Yoruichi could yell at her to stop calling her that. Yachiru decided to stay on Kenpachi's back and watch Kenny have 'fun'. Ichigo was about to say something when he suddenly remembered something. The last time Ichigo and Kenpachi disagree on something, Kenpachi somehow got Ichigo to get in a fight with him. Ichigo won, but still harbors numerous, almost life-threatening wounds.

"Alright, the head-captain said that these attacks are happening in the Southern Rukon districts. Lets go.", Yoruichi said. Ichigo just nodded, while Kenpachi was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh? Where's Kenpachi?", Ichigo directed to Yoruichi. Before she could answer, Ichigo spotted Kenpachi going the opposite direction. "Hay, Kenpachi! You're going the wrong way. The Southern Rukon district is this way.", Ichigo yelled while pointing over the direction that they were about to go. Kenpachi stopped, turned, said something to Yachiru, and then started coming back. Once he caught up, they flash-stepped away.

* * *

"Damn this is boring. All these souls are so easy to kill. When will they send someone strong for us to fight?", the big one asked.

"Calm down Riddick. Don't worry, I guarantee they'll send someone strong. Just do something productive and keep yourself busy.", the one in the black, sleeveless jacket said.

"Ha, good front Ukishino but you're just as anxious as Riddick, I can see it. He has a point though, I don't want to keep killing the same basic weaklings over and over again, it's pathetic. I'm getting bored over here. Hell, I think I may be getting weaker too.", the one in the silver jacket said.

"Well we wouldn't want that to happen now would we Jin? I guess it's time to up the ante. Alright, do something flashy, maybe that'll get their attention.", the one called Ukishino replied.

"Wait a minute, I got a live one here. Let me kill her first, then you can go.", the big one, Riddick, said as he looked at a little girl with messy hair and clothing. Raising his fist in the air, he was about to bring it down on her when a voice was heard saying, "Getsuga Tensho!"

A blue lunar moon shape beam came to cut at the gap between the two. This resulted in a cloud of dust being thrown up, blinding everyone their for a moment. The dust cleared quickly though and when Riddick looked down where the girl was, she was gone.

"Who the hell are you guys and what do you want with the Soul Society?", Ichigo asked while Kenpachi stood on his right, and Yoruichi stood on his left with the girl in her arms. She set the girl down, who just ran in the opposite direction.

"Hello to you too. The names Ukishino Diablo. These two assholes are Jin and Riddick Diablo, my brothers. And you are?", Ukishino said while sitting down on some ruble. Ichigo's face just hardened.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, captain of the 14th squad. This is Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the 11th squad, and this is Yoruichi Shihouin, captain of the 2nd squad.", Ichigo said, pointing to each captain in turn. Before he could continue again, Ukishino interrupted.

"Ahhh, the all powerful captains of the Fourteen Court Guard Squads that all of these little souls kept talking about right before we beheaded them. Such an honor to be graced by your superior presence.", he said while bowing his head slightly and having a sizable smirk on his face. "So Captain Kurosaki, now that you're here, what are you planning to do? Are you going to try to capture us, or fight us, or how about giving a long, moving speech about how the Soul Society is a place that shouldn't be tampered with? Your call.", he said with a tone that screamed sarcasm.

"I like the second decision myself. What sort of weaklings pick on the weak? If you want to have some real fun, then let's go, and I'll be glad to give it to you.", Kenpachi said while slowly sliding his Zampakutou from it's sheath and had a growing smirk go across his face.

"Hey, I like that guy with the freaky looking hair. Let me take him.", Riddick said while cracking his knuckles. With a nod from Ukishino, he disappeared, and then reappeared right in front of his face. He was fast! Nobody, not even Ichigo and Yoruichi, could follow him. Kenpachi didn't even have time to fully put his guard up as a fist came crashing into his mid-section, sending Kenpachi sliding across the ground. Before he was even 10 feet back from the slide, Riddick was behind him with his knee up. It got Kenpachi square in the back, making his head and legs keep going while his mid-section stopped dead. He grabbed Kenpachi's head and forcibly threw Kenpachi back. While he was flying in the air, he grabbed the chain around his waist and threw it to Kenpachi. The chain wrapped it self around his ankle, and when Riddick felt this, yanked back and dragged Kenpachi back to him just as forcibly as when he threw him. Right before he got there, Kenpachi sat up and, catching Riddick off guard, made a deep gash going from his shoulder to his lower ribcage. Kenpachi then kick off him to go in the air and pulled the chain on his ankle to bring himself down for a second attack. Riddick recovered quickly though and moved slightly, just barely missing the point of Kenpachi's blade. Right before Kenpachi made contact with the ground, he brought his sword over to his side to block Riddick's next attack. After Riddick threw the punch, he unwrapped the chain on Kenpachi's ankle, (well, the chain did it itself. Kinda like Zangetsu when the cloth comes off), and jumped back, a smirk on his face. Kenpachi straighten himself out in the air and somehow managed to get his feet under him to bring him to a sliding halt on the ground. Once he stopped, he slowly got up, and moved his leg in a way that resulted in the sound of a large 'crack' and 'pop' from the joint. Kenpachi looked at this and smirked.

"A dislocated joint. I haven't had one of these in a long time. It must've happened when you pulled that chain on my ankle when I was flying back. You really might be fun to play around with after all.", Kenpachi said while while making one big 'pop', relocating the joint while standing. Riddick seemed to be impressed by this.

"I'm really starting to like you. If only I wasn't so much stronger than you, this would really be a lot more fun. I haven't got cut from an attack in centuries. Tell you what, how about you get the other two from behind you and all of you should just attack me at the same time so you would have more of a chance to beat me. That way, I know you tried your hardest when I kill you individually.", Riddick said while examining the gash in his chest and the slight cut on the side of his arm when he narrowly missed Kenpachi's second attack.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. But go easy on the sexy women over there. If you're gentle, she could...accompany us when we leave.", Ukishino stated with a smirk.

"Oh no, you're mine. These two can fight each other if they wanted to, but you're mine.", Kenpachi said while charging again.

"I like your enthusiasm and will to fight. I guess we could go another round.", Riddick said while charging Kenpachi also. Meanwhile, Ichigo and Yoruichi discussed what they were going to do.

"If these guys are as strong as the big one, then this is serious. What do you think we should do?", Yoruichi asked Ichigo.

"We'll just have to fight them. I'll take the smart-mouth with the black jacket. You get the other guy.", Ichigo replied while unwrapping Zangetsu for a fight. He looked at Yoruichi and said, "Be careful.", before nodding and flash-stepping forwards. Ichigo flash-stepped in a zig-zag pattern towards Ukishino, who noticed Ichigo and got up. While flash-stepping, Ichigo noticed that he didn't have a zampakutou or a ampakutou sheath anywhere. In fact, none of them did. 'Is he going to fight barehanded? Are all of them fighting barehanded?'

'Ichigo, be careful, he's very powerful.', Zangetsu said.

'Yeah, I feel it.'

'No, he means that he is _very_ strong. He's actually holding back about 70% of his true power. The fact that he doesn't have a zampakutou though is puzzling. Just be on your guard.', Hichigo added. Ichigo didn't realize that he was holding back _any_ of his power back. He was very strong, and the fact that what Ichigo felt was only 30% of his full power unnerved him slightly. Nevertheless, Ichigo went faster as he took a swing. Ukishino jumped back, performed a back-flip, landed and launched off the side of a tree, and counterattacked with a fist aimed in-between the eyes of Ichigo. Ichigo rolled left and jumped up. When Ukishino made contact with the ground, a crater that seemed to have a diameter of about 10 formed. Ichigo stood in awe at the powerful attack of the punch, but quickly shook it off and launched a Getsuga Tensho at him. Ukishino didn't even move as he just looked at the beam. Something started to happen however, as the beam slowed down and soon came to a halt. 'What the hell?' The Getsuga Tensho then suddenly just cracked and disappeared. 'What the hell did he just do?' Ichigo couldn't think anymore about it as Kenpachi came flying through the trees and came to a stop right in front of Ichigo. He looked like a mess though he still had a bloodthirsty smirk and excited look on his face. He wasn't cut anywhere, but he had bruises all around his arms and torso and a little trickle of blood dropping off the corner of his mouth and his eye-patch was off. Riddick came after him, left fist cocked. Riddick had cuts here and there on his body, the depth of each varying in length. Turns out, he didn't use any bladed weapon and used just his fists. Ichigo couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Kenpachi could take so much damage on fists alone and only give a couple cuts in return. He was sure that if he and Yoruichi got into a fight, Yoruichi could give him that much damage with her fists, but Kenpachi would've given back a good amount of damage back. Much more that just a few cuts. Riddick shot out his fist and Kenpachi raised his sword up to block. The result was the two flying back to some space that Ichigo could no longer see. Ichigo focused back on Ukishino, who just stared back at Ichigo with a look vague interest. Ichigo was about to flash-step forward when he was suddenly vaulted out of the air and slammed into the ground. When he looked at the area on his body that was hit, he was shocked to see that there was nothing there. 'What did he do? Is he using the power of his zampakutou? No, that can't be it, I would've saw him and his zampakutou. So what?' Ichigo refocused back on the issue at hand and tried to get up, only to find that no matter how hard he pushed off the ground, he couldn't. It was like there was something around his neck that was holding him to the ground.

"I see that you're having trouble with the simple process of getting up and out of the dirt. Have you figured it out yet?", Ukishino said while walking casually over to the grounded Ichigo.

"A power from your zampakutou? Where is it anyway?", Ichigo asked while trying again to get up. Ukishino just laughed.

"Zampakutou? What the hell is that? No, it's not. This is something else, something that only we can perform.", Ukishino explained. "Well, that's not entirely true. The full truth is that anybody with spiritual pressure can do it, you just have to have an immense amount of it. I think only you and that other guy fighting Riddick can do it, as well as anyone else with your pressures. The hot girl, well, she'll be a long shot. My point is, spiritual pressure has more uses than just identification and some power level rating. I would explain more to you, but times going out, so I'll tell you this, we'll be back, in due time.", Ukishino finished with a smirk that was starting to become signature. "Riddick! Jin! Time to go!", he yelled.

Riddick looked back, hearing his brothers call. "Sorry, I guess we'll just have to finish this later.", he said and let a six hit combo of a left, right, left, right kick, left kick, and what looked like a drop kick that was very powerful. Before Kenpachi could say or do anything, he already disappeared with some sort of flash-step and arrived next to Ukishino. Jin arrived a few moments later, looking a little winded and bruised here and there. Out of the three, Riddick had the most wounds, Jin second, and Ukishino with just about no wounds to speak of.

"Alright, le-", Ukishino couldn't finish as yet, another spiritual pressure was sensed, an evil, vile one. It was evil so much that it would've made Aizen jealous at not being so evil. A few moments later, a hooded figure showed itself. It had the appearance of a ghost. The hood went from the top and flowed like a river right down to it's jagged and ripped bottom. A black, shadow-looking smoke emanated from the bottom and expanded outwards. It's face was completely black, even in the now moonlit night. There was nothing in it, just pure, black, emptiness. But, the most eye catching thing was the old-fashioned, stereotype scythe with a wooden handle on it in it's hand. To Ichigo, it looked like the grim reaper. A sleeve that Ichigo didn't even see there raised and pointed at some area. Ukishino just sighed, "I know, I know. We were going right now.", he said. The figure just lowered it's sleeve and waited patiently. It's presence made Ichigo feel uneasy. Judging by it's spiritual pressure, it was bad and evil, but not very powerful. Suddenly, Ukishino started chanting something that Ichigo couldn't understand and lowered his head. He started pushing his white spirit energy into his hands and continued to chant. Then suddenly, his chanting stopped and a big push through his arms were made. Suddenly, lightning came forth and the sky looked as if it was going to storm any second. A large gate opened up. When it materialized, snow started to fall. From it's appearance, it wasn't a Senki gate, garganta, or the doorway to the underworld; it was completely new and different. It was a very large gate, about 5 stories high. At the bottom, there was an archway with a skull at the top, and nothing was inside of it besides a moving, pulsing, swirling blackness filling it. It looked to be in a wall of some sorts with snow capped trees on it. But, it wasn't like they were painted on, but as if they were really, actually there. Behind the trees, a mountain that also looked to be really there was standing out. The small area of trees and a mountain was surrounded by a large, silk looking material that was black at the bottom, but as it rose, turning white until it was as white as the snow on the trees and the mountain. At the top of it, was a mask that looked like a Mardi Gras mask from New Orleans. It had long, flowing, white hair running from it, down to the sides. The 'neck' of this face was carved out with crosses and chains that dangled from the bottom. Behind all of this, two white, stone wings sprouted and ran half-way down the entire structure. Ichigo found himself being able to stare at this gate-way for hours on end. Movement caught Ichigo's eye as he looked from the gate-way back down to Ukishino, Jin, Riddick, and the ghostly figured that still gave Ichigo shivers. They were all heading towards the blackness of the archway at the bottom. Jin, Riddick, and the figure went through it, Ukishino being the only one still there. Ukishino just looked back at Ichigo and snapped his fingers. Ichigo found himself being able to move again.

"Remember Ichigo Kurosaki, me and my brothers will be back. And this time, it'll be permanent.", and with that, he jump through, disappearing through the blackness. Moments later, the gate disappeared as well, and the snowing stopped as the clouds cleared and the lightning stopped.

Just then, Kenpachi ran out of the bushes. "Where are they?", he asked Ichigo.

"Their gone.", he replied.

"Damn it. The fight was just getting good and fun!", Kenpachi said with a disappointed tone. Ichigo looked for a moment when he noticed, "Where's Yoruichi?" Kenpachi seemed to just notice as well as he looked around. After a few moments of thought, he just looked back at Ichigo and shrugged his shoulders. Ichigo closed his eyes as he tried to sense for her spiritual pressure. He found her a good way away. "Found her.", Ichigo said. He flash-stepped away to her position, Kenpachi following, not having anything better to do while Yachiru, who just seemed to disappear during the battle, rode his shoulder. When they got to the field, they saw a terrible site. Obvious signs of a battle were colored all over the battle field as there were craters everywhere. It took some looking around, but Yachiru somehow found Yoruichi. When Ichigo got there, he was dumbstruck. "Oh no.", he whispered to himself.

She was in critical condition with multiple wounds all around her. She had a labored breathing rate and when Ichigo felt her pulse, barely noticeable. In fact, Ichigo had to really concentrate on it to feel it. "Guess we'll have to take her to squad four for treatment.", Kenpachi said. Ichigo only nodded as he picked her up and held her bridal style. At that exact moment, Soifon appeared with some squad two members, noticeable by the ninja-suit they wore, and a couple squad four members, as dictated by the medical supplies they possessed. She barked some orders before storming over to Ichigo and the other two. She was half-way to them when she noticed Yoruichi with all of her wounds in Ichigo's arms. She went from a quick stride to a full out sprint and was by Yoruichi's side in under 2 seconds. "Lady Yoruichi, can you hear me? Lady Yoruichi? Lady Yoruichi?", Soifon started yelling as she started to get frantic. Then, she averted her hurt, sad stricken fact over to Ichigo; as soon as she made eye-contact with him, the hurt, sad stricken face went from that to pissed off and I'm-going-to-fucking-kill-you-and-chop-your-balls-off-with-my-zampakutou-you-fucking-piece-of-shit kind of face. Hell, even Hichigo inside Ichigo's inner world tried to hide behind Zangetsu, who turned around and closed his eyes, tightly. "You-", before she could even begin, Urahara appeared, much to Ichigo's luck and gratitude. He also noticed the state Yoruichi was in and was also by her side. But, unlike Soifon, who went back to begging for Yoruichi to get up, he stayed collected and addressed Ichigo.

"I had some things I came to tell you, but right now, she's more important. You're faster out of the two of us, bring her to the squad four barracks, now.", Ichigo just nodded and flash-stepped away. 'Boy, do I have some things to tell you, Ichigo...', Urahara thought after Ichigo left with Yoruichi.

"Soifon, go report back to the head-captain about this. Kenpachi, you and Yachiru stay here so I can ask some questions regarding the Ryoka. Everyone else, I want this area and everywhere else within 10 miles of here sealed off until further notice. Those are direct orders from the head-captain himself, move!", Urahara stated to everyone present.

* * *

'Damn, how did you do this to yourself, Yoruichi? Was he really that strong? I'm sorry...sorry that I couldn't protect you. This will never happen again, I promise.', Ichigo thought as he made his way to the squad four barracks. About 3/4 of the way there, Nell appeared out of nowhere.

"What happened to Yoruichi?", Nell asked Ichigo.

"I don't know. I couldn't see their fight. This worries me. They were really strong, unbelievably strong. One of the guys just stared at my Getsuga Tensho and it just evaporated, for no reason. I don't know where they came from, or what they wanted, but it really worries me with how strong they were.", Ichigo said while at the same time re-living the events. Nell just stared and stayed quiet.

When they got to the barracks, they immediately rushed Yoruichi to an emergency room, Captain Unohana personally taking charge. Wires leading to multiple machines were plugged into her. Ichigo thought it looked like a scene right out of a movie. One of the machines started beeping and everyone present jumped and grew jumpy and were slightly hysterical. The curtain was closed and Ichigo and Nell could hear the bed's wheels squeaking, signaling that the bed was being moved slightly. Ichigo just looked on with wide eyes as Nell just looked like she was about to cry. Ichigo saw this and guided her way to a chair, sitting her and himself down. The wait was long. Long enough that the alcohol consumed earlier hit them, making them feel dizzy and tired. Soon, both succumbed to sleep.

Ichigo woke first, not really recognizing his immediate surroundings. Then he remembered last nights events and was instantly up on his feet. But, he immediately fell back down to his chair as the insane hangover effects ran their course. The bright light hit Ichigo which caused him to tumble back down. Moments later, Nell woke to the sound of Ichigo's moans of pain due to a head-splitting headache. The effects hit her too, and joined in his moans of pain. After an hour, a sleep-deprived, unkempt, hungover Unohana walked out and looked as if she was going to collapse. In fact, when she made it to Ichigo and Nell, she did. Ichigo saw this and, ignoring his hangover, jumped up rather difficultly and caught her. After saying a wary thank you, she reported, "Captain Shihouin is going to survive."

Ichigo and Nell let out a great sigh of relief at the news. Unohana finally gathered herself together and, though shakily, stood on her own power. She continued, "She suffered a good deal of damage and pushed herself beyond her absolute limits. During surgery, I honestly didn't even think that she would live on. She has some considerable will power. Captain Kurosaki, who were those men? How were they so strong to do this much damage to a Captain?", Unohana question. Ichigo had to take a moment to gather his bearings, the alcohol clouding his memory. Then, it rushed back to him. The three ryoka, the portal, that ghostly figure, everything. He tried to remember the one that Yoruichi was to take on. What was his name? Ukishino? No, that was the one he fought.

"I can't remember. I just remember one, maybe two. The one I remember for certain was some guy called Ukishino, and the other guy was called..ah.. Riddick? Yeah, that. There was another one, but I just can't remember his name.", Ichigo said while closing his eyes to replay whatever memory he could. There was a moment of silence, Ichigo racking his memories while Unohana and Nell absorb the information that Ichigo just said. Before any other questions were asked, a squad two reaper appeared on one knee at the entrance of the barracks.

"Lieutenant Nell, and Captains Kurosaki and Unohana, your presence is requested by Head-Captain Yamamoto.", the squad two reaper said. Said three looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded, following the reaper. When the four got there, the reaper went about his business while the other three walk in the meeting room. All of the captains minus Yoruichi, (obviously), were present, even Kenpachi. They were all already in line so Unohana, with visible difficulty, stood next to Isane while Ichigo and Nell stood at the end of the right side.

"Before we get started, what is the condition of Captain Shihouin, Captain Unohana?", Head-Captain Yamamoto questioned.

"She is stable and will survive. The damage sustained was severe, but after three and a half hours of emergency surgery, she'll get through.", Unohana responded.

"This is good news. Now, Captain Kurotshuchi, what did you get statistically wise about the ryoka?"

"Something that even I couldn't believe.", Kurotshuchi said while putting on his creepy smile.

* * *

An that's it right there. Took me a while since I had all of these things family wise and social wise that I had to do that kept me away from the chapter, only limiting about 500-1,000 words per every 2-3 days. But, I got through it. So, can you see why this story went from T to M? Also, tell me what you think about my three new characters, what did you like about them. What didn't you like about them? Hopefully, my next chapter will arrive earlier, but until then, R&R and cya.


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